Rewind
by Boofeh
Summary: Ever since returning to Destiny Islands, Sora's been having these horrible nightmares about Castle Oblivion and the Riku Replica. Just what is going on? Sora/Riku. Rated T for minor swearing and suggested adult themes. -Complete-
1. Remember me

It had been three months since Sora and Riku had returned to Destiny Islands. Twelve weeks had passed since the day they passed through the Door to Light and fallen out of the sky. And it had been ninety one nights ago that Sora's horrible nightmares had begun.

Falling, they always started with that horrible falling sensation. Into darkness, maybe? Some sort of shadowy abyss? Or maybe he was falling into the light with his arms over his face. Sora could never tell. But the horrors that followed the fall were never the same. He was never sure what to wait for. Some nights he was being eaten alive by thousands of Heartless. Other nights he was fighting Xemnas and the flashing red lights. Sometimes nothing at all would happen – Sora would just stand and wait for the nightmare to begin, but no monsters of the darkness would come. Apart from those nights, which were few and far between, the dreams always ended with Sora's demise. His head would fall off or he would fade into darkness or find himself impaled on some pointy object. He would watch his lower torso fly away into the darkness or he would feel his head crack open. It was sickening.

But the very worst dream, to Sora, was the only dream that was the same every time he had it. It was also the only dream in which he didn't die.

In the dream he was standing in a long, white corridor with white pillars lining the walls. In his dreams he was usually in a very dark place, so when he found himself in the long, white corridor it always blinded him at first. In the dream he had a sense of urgency – he needed to be somewhere, to find something and find it quick smart. He needed to reach the door at the end of the corridor. But every time, every single time, Riku stood in the way.

Riku wore the strange blue and red suit he had worn while under Ansem's control. He was only fifteen in the dream – never older, never younger. He always yelled tormenting insults at Sora and he always advanced upon him menacingly. But always he brandished his keyblade at Sora, and he never failed to pick a fight.

Sora was used to fighting Riku – as kids they were forever having fist fights and sparring matches. However, this fight was different. Sora found it so unnerving because it wasn't a sparring match. The muscular boy held nothing back, pulled every dirty trick he knew and always glared at him with absolute hatred. Riku wanted him dead.

The fight itself was never too hard, but the ending seconds were always more terrifying for Sora than all of his other nightmares combined. Always, he blocked a crunching blow, dodged to the side and saw an opening. Diving in quickly, he felt his keyblade strike flesh and he always tried to pull back, but the momentum of the blow was just too strong and he couldn't. His Keyblade always managed to make contact with the side of the other boy's head, producing a sickening crunch.

Watching his best friend sink to the floor was always enough to make Sora wake up screaming.

"Riku …"

-x-

Sora often woke up screaming and tonight was no different.

By the time the bedroom door was thrown open Sora was on the floor, thrashing about wildly and screaming. Strong hands grabbed at his shoulders and shook him roughly. At first this made Sora thrash even harder than before, eventually causing both bodies to fall onto the floor in a tangled heap, but eventually he slumped over and opened his eyes wearily.

"… What…?" He muttered, gazing about the room "Another one?"

He looked up to spot the terrified face of a seventeen year old Riku. His long, silver hair was all over the place from sleeping on the couch and his jade eyes were bloodshot. He was kneeling on the floor next to Sora, gripping his shoulders roughly. Riku sighed and visibly relaxed, letting go of Sora.

"Yeah. Another one." He sat back, leaning on the side of Sora's bed.

Sora sat up slowly, shakily. In the moonlight he was very pale. "And I thought I was over them, too."

Riku ran his hand through his messy silver hair. "Want some water?"

Sora shook his head as he leaned against the bed next to Riku, wrapping his arms around his knees and drawing them close into his chest, resting his chin on his knees. His wide eyes stared off into the darkness blankly. Riku shuddered when he saw just how flat those eyes were compared to how they usually glittered with life.

"When will they stop, Riku?" He asked quietly, not moving his gaze.

Riku sighed and tried to smile at the hunched boy. "Soon." He said, attempting to sound confident.

Sora's head turned slowly and he looked over at Riku, eyes welling with tears. Neither of them said a word. But slowly, Riku reached over and placed an arm around Sora's shaking shoulders, pulling the smaller body in close to his. They sat like that for the rest of the night, in total silence, neither of them moving an inch. When dawn finally peeked through the curtained windows, Sora's face was stained with dry tears.

-x-

When they had first returned to Destiny Islands, Sora's parents weren't concerned about the nightmares. They figured that it was just his way of dealing with the traumatic things he had been through on his adventure. But when two months had passed and the nightmares had increased in intensity and frequency they began to worry. And finally, desperation had led them to Riku. They knew that Riku had also been through much of what Sora had. They thought that maybe he could help the boy get over his nightmares.

Riku had taken to sleeping on the couch in the Osment house a few weeks prior. It wasn't every night that he ended up running into Sora's room, but every morning at breakfast Sora had deep shadows under his eyes and a sour disposition.

During the day it was an entirely different story. Sora talked, Sora smiled, Sora laughed. He looked like a boy who had been on a very long holiday and was delighted to be home again. Riku, while a little tired and grumpy at times, was also fairly cheerful during the day. More cheerful than he had been since he was a child. Life was good.

When Sora's nightmares first began he had sought out Riku. At first Riku also dismissed the dreams as post traumatic stress, nothing more. But when Sora began to talk about a long, white corridor with pillars, and of killing Riku, he began to get a nagging suspicion that something wasn't right. It was this suspicion that led him to accept the Osment's offer of sleeping on the couch.

It had been almost two years since Riku had seen Castle Oblivion, but the events that had taken place at that castle still sent shivers up his spine. He remembered everything that he had seen and done at Castle Oblivion, and Naminé had shared with him her experiences at the castle while they were taking care of Sora with DiZ in Twilight Town. In this way Riku had a rough idea of what Sora had encountered.

Naminé had told Riku all about how she was being held captive by the Organization and was forced to tear apart Sora's memories of Kairi – the girl Sora was supposedly in love with. She had described how she had replaced Sora's memories of Kairi with false memories of herself, and she had recounted Sora's fits of anger when he learned that Naminé was in trouble.

But Sora didn't remember a thing. As far as he was concerned, Donald, Goofy, Jiminy and himself had just sent Kairi back to Destiny Islands and were just setting out on a new journey to re-locate Riku and King Mickey, when suddenly he found himself waking up in a pod with no idea of how he got there. And it didn't seem to bother him at all.

As Sora, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy didn't remember Castle Oblivion, Naminé was a part of Kairi again and the entire Organization and DiZ were dead, Riku knew that the only one who had been there and remembered it other than himself was King Mickey, but he was far away and Riku couldn't reach him. Or could he?

Riku was beginning to worry. Why was Sora dreaming about Castle Oblivion? And was it causing these horrific nightmares? But the thing that worried him the most was the Riku in Sora's dreams. The aggressive boy waving about his keyblade and wearing the Heartless outfit. The one that Sora killed every time. As soon as Sora had described him Riku knew who he was. It had to be the Replica.

Riku hadn't needed Naminé to tell him of the Replica. He knew very well what it was.

It hardly mattered anymore, because Riku himself had killed it. Riku had watched it die, even shared a tender moment with it, and he had always assumed that that was the end of the matter. It seemed that he was wrong. Somehow, Sora knew about the Replica. Even if it was an unconscious knowledge or not, Sora knew something that he wasn't supposed to know and it was driving him mad.

At first, Riku tried to shrug it off as a mere coincidence. He himself had worn that very suit while attempting to kill Sora when they had fought in Hollow Bastion. And Sora did know a little bit about Naminé. After all, he had met the girl in passing, even if he didn't recognise her. But after several nights of waking up to Sora's tortured screams he knew that he had to do something.

It was late on a Saturday afternoon at the start of the school holidays when Riku finally sat down at his desk with a pen and paper. After pausing to think for several minutes, he lowered his pen and began to write.

_Dear Mickey,_ He wrote. _How are you? I hope everything at Disney Castle is running smoothly._

_I'm writing this to you because there's something that has been really bothering me lately. For the last few months Sora has been having these terrible nightmares. It's wearing him down so much and we're all really worried. However, he's also been dreaming about Castle Oblivion._

Riku paused again, trying to sort out the mess in his head.

_You and I both know that Sora slept in that pod for a year so Naminé could restore his true memories and erase the memories of Castle Oblivion, but for some reason Sora has been dreaming about fighting the Replica of me. I've asked him about it again and again. He doesn't remember anything else of Castle Oblivion or of the four members he met while he was there. He doesn't even remember anything about Naminé. All he knows is the 'dream' he keeps having about fighting, and killing, the Replica. What about Donald Goofy and Jiminy? Are they remembering bits and pieces of Castle Oblivion too?_

_I haven't told him about the Replica or of Castle Oblivion. As far as he knows I'm worried that he is suppressing urges to kill me. I'm not sure if he should be told about that castle. He doesn't seem at all curious how he got into the pod in the first place. Silly, scatterbrained Sora._

_Normally I wouldn't bother you with this. You're a busy mouse and you have a kingdom to run. But I'm really worried about Sora. Everyone on Destiny Island is. The lack of sleep is beginning to affect his health. If you could spare a few thoughts on the matter I would be eternally grateful._

_Your friend, Riku._

Riku sat back and stretched, scanning through his letter again. It was rushed, but he felt that it got the point across. He honestly didn't know if Mickey would even respond, but he knew he had to try.

He reached across the desk to grab at an empty glass bottle. Carefully, he rolled up the letter and shoved it down the neck of the bottle, making sure to cork it firmly. Tightly grasping the bottle he stood up, stretched again and left the room. Calling out a brief farewell to his parents, he strode from the house and made his way to the beach, walking quickly. When he reached the shore, he glanced out to the open ocean.

He didn't know if it was the only way to contact Mickey. But he could no longer use corridors of darkness to travel, he couldn't summon the Door to Light on will and Sora's gummiship was still sitting in Twilight Town where he had left it. And if Kairi could send a message in a bottle from the realm of light to Sora, who was in the realm of darkness, Riku felt pretty confident that his little message would make it to the world of the Disney Castle. Even though he wasn't sure if there was an ocean anywhere near it.

Pushing all doubt out of his mind, Riku waded out into the shallows and gently placed the bottle in the water. Giving it a slight nudge, the bottle was caught in the current and slowly pulled out to sea. Riku watched the bobbing figure for a long time, as it slowly got smaller and smaller until it eventually disappeared from sight.

With a slight sigh Riku turned and made his way back to the dry sand. He hoped, for Sora's sake, that Mickey would respond soon.

-x-

**Fangirl's Ramble:**** This fic will have a total of seven chapters, all at least double the size of this one. I'll upload a new chapter every few days, or if I get bored. :3**

**Enjoy and review!**


	2. Think of me

"Nothing's changed, huh?" Riku didn't look away from the sunset as Sora approached. In the last couple of years he had forgotten just how nice the quiet moments were. In his youth he had mistaken them for boring, but now he felt that he wouldn't trade the pointless conversations for anything.

Sora smiled as he learned against the paopu tree Riku sat on. "Nope. Nothing will."

Riku frowned as he remembered how he had felt so trapped here. "What a small world."

"But part of one that's much bigger." Sora smiled. Not for the first time, Riku was struck by how much Sora had matured on his travels. And, not for the first time, he wished that he could be a little more like his brunette friend.

But Sora cleared his throat again. "Hey Riku. What do you think it was, the Door to Light?"

Riku chuckled as he slid down from his perch. "This." He tapped Sora's chest gently. Confused, Sora's hand rose to touch the area Riku had just tapped.

"This?"

"Yeah. It's always closer than you think." Riku smiled – His first genuine smile for weeks. Sora looked up at him, confusion in his big blue eyes, and smiled back.

"Sora! Riku!"

Riku turned slightly to see Kairi running across the bridge, waving excitedly. She skidded to a halt in front of Sora, almost bent over double from panting. It became apparent to Riku just how unfit the thin girl must be. He hid a smirk.

"What's up?" Sora asked, sounding slightly concerned.

"Look." She held up a glass bottle. Inside the bottle was a tightly-wound scroll bearing King Mickey's seal. Riku felt a flood of relief – so Mickey _had_ received his note!

"The King!" Sora snatched the bottle as Riku and Kairi crowded around, reading over Sora's shoulder.

_Heya Riku!_

_Glad to hear from you. Everything is going well enough here. The Queen has finally forgiven me for running off without any notice, but poor Donald is still getting an earful from Daisy. The other worlds are doing great too – there are still Heartless and Nobodies everywhere, but the numbers are under control._

_I am sorry to hear about Sora's nightmares. Unfortunately, I can't send you a magic potion to make them go away. Reoccurring nightmares like his come from within, so to conquer them Sora will have to conquer himself – more specifically the darkness in his heart. I'm sure you will be able to guide him through that._

_I'm very surprised to hear about his dreams about Castle Oblivion. I interviewed Donald, Goofy and Jiminy for several hours but with no results. Jiminy seems to remember a very white place and a very angry Sora, but that could have happened anywhere along their journey, because Jiminy's journals of their adventures before they entered Castle Oblivion were all erased by Naminé. Still, I am having him monitored as I write. None of them has had any nightmares, either._

_The only three people in the world who remember the castle and are alive to tell the tale are you, me and Naminé. Naminé was and is an exceptional Nobody, so I don't think she is beyond contact. With Kairi's help it may be possible to talk to her, but it will be difficult. You will have to figure out how to do this for yourself, sorry. But if you manage to reach Naminé I think she will be able to answer most of your questions, because she is responsible for Sora's memories from around that time. Also, I never met the Replica, so I can't shed much light on him._

_It's up to you if Sora should be told about Castle Oblivion. It would make a very long and confusing story, but if these nightmares are beginning to affect his health maybe it would be for the best. But it's all up to you, because you would be the one doing the telling._

_Whelp, that's about all I can say on that. I hope Sora gets better, and I hope to hear from you again soon._

_King Mickey_

The three stood in silence for several minutes. Finally, Sora's hand dropped to his side as he looked up at Riku.

"You wrote to the King? Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, one eyebrow quirked. In his voice there was a slight hint of hurt.

Riku made to grab at the note but Sora snatched it away. His gaze was slowly turning into a glare. Shifting uncomfortably, Riku muttered lamely "It was about your nightmares. I was asking him how to make them stop."

Sora was naive, but he wasn't gullible. No way would he let this slide. "So what's all this about 'Castle Oblivion'? What is it?"

Kairi cocked her head to one side. "And why did the King mention Naminé?"

Riku glanced at the two innocent faces glaring up at him, feeling his guts churn a little. How he wanted to keep them both from the memory of Castle Oblivion, but the look of utter betrayal in Sora's eyes told him that he wouldn't be able to.

Sighing, Riku ran his fingers across his scalp, feeling the silky strands caressing his skin. "Sora, aren't you curious about how you wound up in that pod in Twilight Town?" he began uncertainly.

Sora shrugged. "Sure I am a little, but I figured that it was best if I didn't stress about it too much."

Riku made a gesture at Kairi. "That was Naminé's doing – she put you in there."

Sora whirled to stare at Kairi as the girl stared up at Riku in disgust. Inside, Riku sighed. He probably could have said that better.

"Don't talk about Naminé like that." Kairi fumed. "And don't look at me like that, Sora!"

Sora backed off a little as Riku shook his head.

"No, it wasn't like that. Naminé was doing the right thing." Riku tried to explain, but Sora snapped at him.

"And how is putting me to sleep for a year the right thing?" He said, a small crease appearing between his eyebrows as it always did when he was angry. Riku began to wonder if Sora could still summon his keyblade when he remembered his friend's tendency to get angry when confused.

"Well, it's a long story, but Naminé erased most of your memories."

"What!?"

Riku sighed again and hoisted himself back up onto the paopu tree. This was going to take a while.

"It was almost two years ago now." Riku began "It was shortly after we sealed the door to Kingdom Hearts. I was in the realm of darkness, and you two were in the realm of light." He nodded at the two teenagers standing before him.

"You located one of Organization XIII's strongholds. Nobody can say exactly what happened to you there – you don't remember and the entire Organization is now dead. But when you were there something terrible happened." Riku paused, thinking things over "You started to forget things as you progressed through the castle. At first it was smaller things, but after a while you started to forget more important things – your past travels, your friends and what you were trying to do. But with every memory you lost, you started to remember something that you had never experienced."

"What did I remember?" Sora asked, thoroughly confused. Kairi kept quiet, watching Riku thoughtfully.

"Naminé."

Kairi butted in "What do you mean, he remembered Naminé? Sora first met Naminé in the World that Never Was."

Riku shook his head. "Don't interrupt, Kairi. I'm getting there. Sora gained more and more memories of Naminé as he went further into the castle. He remembered what she looked like, her personality, even her name. And with every little detail that he remembered about Naminé, he forgot about you." He gestured to the girl.

Kairi didn't say anything, but Riku could tell by the look on her face that she didn't understand.

"All of Sora's memories of you were being replaced by false memories of Naminé. Eventually, Sora completely forgot you." Riku said quietly. Kairi gasped, remembering something.

"I forgot about Sora for a year. Oh my God, I can't believe I didn't remember this until just now!" She cried, smacking her forehead. Sora gave her a confused look. Kairi took a deep breath and explained "It would have been shortly after Destiny Islands was restored, when suddenly I couldn't remember your face. Then I couldn't remember anything about what you looked like, and before long I forgot you entirely. It was about a year later when I slowly started to remember you again." She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"How did this happen? What sort of magic could make Kairi and I forget each other?" Sora asked, eyeing Riku carefully.

Riku smirked. "The magic of a witch, Sora."

"Naminé?" Kairi asked.

Riku nodded. "So you do know a little about Naminé."

"Well, she _is_ my nobody." Kairi shrugged "I met her when I was held captive in the World that Never Was. All she said was that she was a witch, but she didn't say what kind of magic she could do."

"I didn't think Naminé was a witch and I knew her well." Riku mused, eyes wandering to the horizon "She got that idea from DiZ. He was always calling her a witch. He was quite nasty about it."

"You knew Naminé?" Kairi asked eagerly.

"I did. But right now we have to stop Sora from spraining his brain." He nodded at Sora, who appeared lost in deep thought.

"Sorry. Go on." The brunette muttered.

"Naminé had powers over you memories and those close to you." Riku stated simply. "I don't know exactly how she managed it, but she managed to shuffle through your memories like a deck of cards and take out the ones she wanted gone, replacing them with ones of her own creation."

"Like a blackjack dealer?" Kairi laughed, picturing her Nobody at a casino.

Riku smirked. "Sort of."

"How did Naminé get this power?" Sora asked. His voice was even but his face told a different story. He was pretty bewildered by it all.

"I don't know." Riku shrugged "DiZ explained it to me once, but I don't remember what he said. I didn't understand it very well. Something about Kairi's heart hiding in you when you turned into a Heartless. It doesn't really matter, I suppose."

"Oh, okay." Sora's face fell. "So, about Castle Oblivion...?"

"Oh yeah." Riku scratched his head in thought "So you forgot all about Kairi and falsely remembered Naminé, even though you had never met her."

"Did Sora forget about you, Riku?" Kairi enquired, still a little insulted that Sora had forgotten her.

"I don't think he could have even if he'd wanted to." Riku smirked, remembering the fierce temper of the Replica, who had attacked Sora several times.

Sora smirked too, but his sly expression suggested that it wasn't for the same reason Riku was smirking. Kairi just looked confused.

"When you were in the castle, travelling up through the floors, I managed to find myself in the lowest basement in the Castle." Riku said. "There, I bumped into some of the members of the Organization. They took samples" Riku shuddered "and made a clone of me. A replica."

"A replica?" Sora frowned.

"It looked just like me, but it was designed to be aggressive. It took me on a twice, but it was a shameful Keyblade bearer." Riku smirked "I easily beat it down both times."

"Did I meet the Replica?" Sora asked, remembering the evil Riku in his dreams.

"Yes. And I think that's who you've been dreaming about." Riku nodded.

Sora frowned. "So, I killed the Replica?"

Riku shook his head. "You didn't. I don't know where that dream came from, but it's wrong. Naminé was being held captive in the castle – Organization XIII was forcing her to mess up your memories. But Axel set her free. Naminé didn't know why, but she found you and you met for the first time."

"Axel was there?"

Riku nodded. "That was when you met him for the first time. Anyway, so you met Naminé, but the Replica showed up and tried to take her from you. When it went to hurt you, Naminé smashed its heart and it passed out. She told me that you both believed that it was dead. You got very emotional, she said." Riku smirked knowingly at Sora, who shrugged.

"Of course I'd get emotional. I know I'd freak if I saw someone kill you in front of me, even if you had been trying to fight me." Sora shrugged. "You are my best friend, you know."

Riku's smirk dropped as Kairi elbowed Sora in the ribs. "What about me?" She chided.

"You're both my best friends." Sora said, expression slightly dumbfounded. He had no idea what had just happened.

"Anyway." Riku said, shaking off his feelings of unease "You went on to destroy every last Organization XIII member aside Axel. However, shortly before you fought Marluxia, the final member, the Replica showed up and offered to help you bring him down. You both fought him and won. It disappeared. It was then that Naminé apologized for what she had done to your memories – she felt awful. She offered you a choice – You could continue as you were, with all of your false memories intact. You could remember Naminé. Or, you could sleep in a pod for a year or so while Naminé restored your real memories and eradicated her false ones. You could forget all about her and Castle Oblivion. You chose to sleep in the pod, have your memories restored and forget all about her."

Kairi suddenly let out a loud, sad sigh, attracting the attention of both boys. A big tear rolled down her cheek as she gazed at Sora sadly. "Make me like I was..." She whispered.

"Kairi? Are you okay?" Sora asked in a concerned voice.

Kairi shook her head a little and blinked a few times. Hurriedly, she wiped the tear from her face with the side of her hand.

"I'm fine." She said, sounding a lot more surprised than sad. "I must have gotten something in my eye."

"You sure?" Riku asked, gazing down at her.

"Yeah." Kairi shrugged "I don't know where that came from."

"_Hey Sora. You sure we haven't met before?"_

"_Positive. Why do you ask?"_

_A smile. "I dunno."_

_A tear rolled down his cheek. Hayner, Pence and Olette gasped._

"_You okay?"_

"_Y-yeah. Don't know where it came from."_

"Kairi?" Sora asked, still carefully watching her.

"Yes?" Kairi glanced at him, totally under control.

Sora looked directly at her face, as if carefully searching for something. After a few seconds, he shook his head and smiled. "Never mind."

"So, what happened to the Replica?" Kairi asked Riku.

"I killed it." Riku said seriously "I found my way to Twilight Town, where Naminé was holding Sora, and when I got there it jumped me. So, I killed it." He shrugged, like it was no big deal.

"Oh." Sora muttered. "So why am I dreaming about him?"

"It, not him. And I don't know." Riku hopped down from the paopu tree "That's why I asked Mickey, but he had no answers, as you saw."

The tall boy looked at the sky. While they had been talking the sun had completely set – the sky was now glittering with millions of stars and a full moon hung overhead.

"We'd better get back. Our parents are going to butcher us." He said, wishing that he could stay out on the small island for longer. Sora nodded, turned and walked away.

The three slowly walked along the shoreline together in silence. Riku knew that his two friends were trying to make sense of all that he'd just told them. Inwardly, he sighed. Would Sora's nightmares go away now that he was brought up to speed? Or would they just worsen? He couldn't say. But as he climbed into his boat and picked up his oar he knew that the matter was far from resolved. It had only just begun.


	3. Speak of me

When Riku and Sora got to Sora's house, Riku opted to sleep on Sora's bedroom floor instead of his usual spot on the couch. He didn't say why, but secretly he was worried that Sora might end up hurting himself in his sleep somehow, now that he knew what he was dreaming about. When they were all settled in and the light was off, Sora let out a grunt.

"I can't sleep on the bed while you're on the floor. It's not right."

Riku just laughed. "You've never had a problem with it before. How many sleepovers have we had over the years?" And he was right – the two had had countless sleepovers in the years they had been friends. While at Sora's house, Sora slept on the bed and Riku slept on the floor. While at Riku's house, it was the opposite. That was the way it had always been and before tonight, neither of them had shown any reluctance.

"I know. Budge up, I'm coming down." Sora called out as he rolled completely off the bed, landing with a thump on the floor. He very narrowly missed Riku, who had rolled over at the last second to avoid being crushed. Tugging his blanket and pillows down, Sore was settled comfortably on the carpet next to his friend within minutes.

"Geez, can't you do anything like a sane human being?" Riku grumbled as he pulled his blanket down to cover his toes.

"I don't want to be boring like you." Sora teased, elbowing Riku's shoulder. Riku just grunted and rolled onto his side, away from Sora.

"If you have a nightmare and kick me I will kill you." He muttered, yawning. Sora could hear his gentle breaths become slower and deeper as the older boy slowly fell asleep. Sora watched him for a while – the boy's bare back seemed almost luminous in the moonlight. (Both boys slept in boxer shorts and nothing else) When Sora rolled a little closer he could see an array of pale freckles from years of outdoor work and play. Gently, he ran his index finger along Riku's shoulder blades, feeling the skin shiver at the unexpected contact. His skin wasn't the smoothest, but it was a lot smoother than Sora's calloused fingers.

Riku grunted and rolled onto his stomach, head turned sideways in Sora's direction. His arms were folded up under his chest somewhere – while it looked a little awkward, Riku was certainly comfortable enough and didn't wake up.

Sora propped himself up onto one arm as he stared down at his friend's face. His eyelids twitched and rolled in a way the suggested a quiet, pleasant dream. Daringly, Sora gently plucked at Riku's eyelashes and lifted his eyelid – Riku's bright green eye stared up at Sora without seeing him. It sent a shiver down Sora's spine. Riku's eyes were never that dull when he was awake, and Sora hoped they'd never be. He shuddered and let Riku's eyelid fall back into place. Riku moaned in his sleep and shook his head slightly, but didn't awaken.

Brushing a loose strand of hair behind Riku's ear, Sora was struck by just how serene the boy was when he was asleep. Sora had seen him sleep plenty of times before, but he had never noticed the way Riku's eyebrows sloped downwards at the tips, nor just how sharp his chin was, or how long his eyelashes were. But then Sora shook himself slightly, chided himself for having such weird thoughts and rolled onto his back with a grunt.

The brunette lay awake for a very long time, staring at the roof. He wasn't tired at all. Or maybe he was, but he didn't want to surrender to the nightmares again, if he could help it. His mind wandered to the mystery that was Castle Oblivion. It was amazing – the small hole that there had always been in his memory was now filled. Sora tried to remember something else about Castle Oblivion other than his dream. But, try as he might, the mysterious white castle eluded him.

And Naminé. What was up with her? The only time Sora could ever remember meeting her was at The World That Never Was, when Naminé summoned a dark corridor for the troupe to return to Destiny Islands through. She had also encouraged Roxas to make an appearance, and they talked for a minute. What was it they said to each other? Sora thought back to that day.

"_See? We meet again, like we promised."_

"_Huh?"_

"_You said we'd meet again" Roxas appeared "But when we did, we might not recognize each other."_

"_I did, didn't I?"_

"_But I knew you."_

"_Mmm… It's strange."_

"_I think I understand. I see myself the way you remember me. And you see yourself the way I remember you." _

"_I always thought Nobodies were doomed to fade back into darkness."_

"_Yeah, but you and I didn't. We got to meet our original selves."_

"_So, we can be together again!"_

"_Right. Any time Sora and Kairi are together."_

_Kairi looked at him._

"_We'll be together every day, right Sora?"_

"_Uh, yeah!"_

Sora had only briefly wondered what Naminé had meant when she had said "We meet again" to Sora. Sora had never seen the thin girl before in his life – well, not that he remembered. He had the feeling that Naminé had met Roxas, but he wasn't sure when or where. He suppressed a yawn as he wondered if they'd gotten on as well as he and Kairi always did. But before his thoughts could wander further, Sora's eyes slowly closed and he drifted off into sleep.

-x-

_Angrily, he pushed through the door. If Donald and Goofy wanted to be stupid, let them. But he stopped cold when he saw a boy walking towards him. A boy who he thought that he might never see again._

"_You're… Riku!" He ran over to greet his friend. "What are _you_ doing here?"_

_But Riku just glared at him. "Not happy to see me? Let me know if I'm getting in the way" He rolled his eyes "You know, of something that's more important."_

_Sora recoiled – he didn't understand what Riku meant. He was delighted to see his friend again. "Huh? I didn't mean that."_

_Riku let out a humourless chuckle. "Spare the excuses. I bet… that you had all but forgotten about me." Riku's tone was low, poisonous. Sora had never heard him speak to anyone like that before._

"_Are you crazy? C'mon! I came all this way looking for you!" Sora exclaimed, flustered. He really didn't like the way that Riku was glaring at him._

"_But you're not anymore, right? Now it's only Naminé that you're looking for. You don't care about me. Just like you never cared, at all. About her feelings."_

_Sora was bewildered. "Naminé's?"_

_Riku just chuckled again, making the hairs on the back of Sora's neck stand up. Something was seriously wrong._

"_I knew it. Never even gave it a thought, did you? Just 'cause you wanna see Naminé. Sorry. Doesn't go both ways." He took a step forward and pointed an accusing finger at the brunette. "Tell you the truth, Naminé doesn't even want to look at your face!"_

"_Why not?"_

"_You should ask your memories why Naminé disappeared from the Islands. Remember that and you'd know."_

_Sora looked at his feet, ashamed at not being able to remember. "Did I… Did I do something? Is it my fault? Riku?"_

_Darkness swirled around Riku – suddenly the yellow shirt and baggy pants were gone. He was wearing his dark outfit._

"_Go home Sora! I'll care for Naminé." He glared. Suddenly his keyblade was in his hand "Anyone who goes near her goes through me!" He lunged at Sora, who got his own keyblade up just in time to block._

"_What's – What's wrong with you? We're supposed to be friends!" He yelled._

_Riku glared at him through their clashing Keyblades. His voice trembled with emotion "Please Sora – when have you ever cared about me? Naminé's not the only one who's sick of looking at you – so am I!"_

_Sora pushed him away, but Riku did a back flip and landed on his feet._

"_Riku, stop it!" Sora's voice was high-pitched and shrill. He couldn't understand why Riku was attacking him. But Riku just raised his Keyblade and rushed at him. Sora squeezed his eyes shut._

-x-

Sora's eyes snapped open. For a brief second he wondered why he was on the floor, but then he remembered the night before. Letting out a sigh of relief, Sora wiped his sweaty brow and looked about. The first few rays of sunlight shone through the window, lighting up the room in an orange glow. It reminded Sora briefly of Twilight Town and he shivered.

Riku was still lying next to him, but he had rolled away during the night and was now curled up into an impossibly tight ball several paces from where he had fallen asleep. Sora could see his shoulder rise and fall slowly with each breath, and he could see Riku's relaxed face underneath a few strands of silver hair. Now that the perpetual scowl was missing, he looked much younger than seventeen. Sora relaxed at the sight of the vulnerable boy and knew that Riku would never again hold a keyblade against him.

On an impulse, Sora climbed onto his hands and knees and silently crawled across the room like a baby, chin almost to the floor and bum in the air like a cat stalking prey. When he reached the other boy, he slowly learned down until his nose was barely a centimetre away from Riku's. Sora smiled when he saw just how peaceful the other boy looked. His nose twitched as he inhaled the familiar scent of Riku.

"I care. You know that, right? I always cared." He whispered sadly, the Replica's harsh words still ringing in his ears. "I always will."

Riku stirred slightly. One of his eyes began to slowly crack open. Sora felt his guts drop – busted!

"MORNING!" Sora bellowed.

Riku jumped a foot in the air.

Sora fell back onto his butt, laughing loudly at Riku, who was now wide awake and glaring at him with a look that could kill. Even so, Sora thought that it was much friendlier than the Replica's glare.

"Damn it Sora! What the hell did you do that for?"

Sora didn't answer – he was in the middle of a laughing fit, curled up on the ground and shaking with laugher. Riku just glared at him. He felt relieved that Sora was alright and in a good mood, but he was still pretty pissed about his wake-up call. When it seemed apparent that Sora was too busy laughing to answer, Riku clambered up onto his feet, working out the stiffness that comes from sleeping on a hard floor. He picked up his blanket and pillow and dumped them on Sora's bed.

"Right, screw you then. I'm going to have breakfast." He grumbled as he lumbered out of the room blearily, scratching the side of his head. His long silver hair was a tangled mess, like Sora's usually was.

"No wait Riku!" Sora laughed as he chased his friend. "I'm sorry!"

-x-

"You know, I was thinking this morning."

"Well, there's always a first time for everything." Riku smirked.

Kairi sent him a light shove. Riku's feet didn't move an inch, but he leaned sideways in submission, still smirking. "Alright! I'm sorry."

The three were standing on the lower deck of the play island. To their right they could see the jetty, and to their left they could see a beautifully sparking ocean that stretched to the horizon. It was a pretty sight, but it was ignored by the three teenagers. Someone had the clever idea of bringing out deckchairs, so they were each busy setting up their own deckchair in the sun or the shade, depending on their preference.

Kairi was positioning hers in full sunlight while she spoke. It was an ideal spot for tanning – she was in her favourite pink bikini and had an Indonesian sarong wrapped around her hips that dragged to the floor. Sora's was half-in and half-out – when he stretched out on it his torso and limbs were in the sun, but his head was in the shade. He said that this was because he liked the warmth but didn't own any sunglasses. Riku's was immersed completely in the shade. He didn't say why, but his years in the darkness had sensitized his skin to sunlight and he didn't want to get a painful sunburn. He had kept his shirt on all day, unlike Sora who had ripped his off and forgotten about it the second they set foot on the island.

"I was thinking about Naminé." Kairi said as she climbed into her chair. Sora half sat up to look over at her.

"And?"

Kairi shrugged. "I was thinking of ways to contact her."

Riku didn't look up from his chair, but his arm waved in the air. "Can't you just ask her to come out? I mean, she _is_ a part of you, right?"

Kairi and Sora shook their heads in union. "It's not that simple. She's always watching and listening, but it's more of a subconscious thing." Kairi explained.

Riku frowned as he stretched out on the chair. His feet hung off the edge uselessly. Damn thing was too short for him. "So, she's always there but she's not?"

Sora shrugged at Riku. "It's kind of hard to explain, but you can always feel your Nobody."

Riku just shrugged and let it drop. Although he had met both Sora and Kairi's Nobodies on several occasions, they just made him feel uneasy and empty. He could acknowledge the fact that he had no idea what it was like, even though it meant that he would be useless in contacting Naminé.

"So what was your idea?" Sora asked lamely as he fell back into the chair.

"Maybe she'll come out if I fall asleep and you guys call her." Kairi suggested. "I have this feeling that I'm always pushing her down so I can have control over my body. Remember yesterday when I started crying? That was Naminé."

Sora clicked his fingers. "I knew it. Roxas did that to me once."

"I wasn't paying attention to my own body and she just took over for a second. It was a crazy feeling." Kairi laughed. "But it gave me the idea."

"That makes sense. Okay then, Kairi. Shut your eyes and drift off. We'll try Naminé in about five minutes." Sora said, sitting up. Riku could hear the excitement in his voice.

"Sora, I can't sleep with you staring at me like that." Kairi protested.

"Oh, right. Sorry." Sora stretched out on his deckchair again obediently. Riku began to count the seconds in his head.

Was he nervous about seeing Naminé again? He wasn't sure. What would Sora's reaction be? He couldn't say. For what seemed like the longest five minutes ever, Riku's mind was awash with questions. What should he ask Naminé? Would she explain things to Sora? And would Kairi hear the conversation?

Finally, Riku's internal stopwatch hit zero. He sat up and examined Kairi. She seemed to be pretty out of it. Riku nudged Sora's shoulder, but Sora just groaned. Riku looked over at him to discover that he was also asleep. Suppressing a sigh, Riku smacked the sleeping boy's chest lightly. Sora woke with a bit of a start, but when he went to protest Riku just held a finger up, signalling for him to be quiet.

"Naminé?" Riku called lightly.

Kairi's eyes snapped open, causing Riku to jump slightly. Silently, quickly, the girl sat up and stared at Riku. But Riku knew that it wasn't Kairi. The way she sat on the edge of her chair with her legs together, shoulders back and hands resting on her lap was different to how Kairi usually sprawled out on chairs. Also, the sober expression was definitely alien to Kairi's round face.

"Naminé." Riku's lips tugged up into an awkward smile. "Long time no see, huh?"

Kairi smiled – but the smile was also different to Kairi's toothy grin. It was more secretive, more subtle. And with that, any doubt that Riku had vanished. The girl was Naminé.

"Hello, Riku." She nodded at Riku. "And hello, Sora." She smiled at Sora, who was still lying on his chair but was now propped up on one elbow. Her voice was the only physical feature that had changed – it was softer, higher. More musical.

"Erm... Hi, Naminé." Sora muttered awkwardly.

Riku cleared his throat, unsure of how to begin. "Well, Naminé. Are you aware of the situation?"

Naminé nodded. "Sora's nightmares? Yes. I know all Kairi knows. We're two halves of a whole." She smiled again. It was a warm enough smile, but it still gave Sora the shivers. He'd never seen Kairi's face smile like that. But he remembered that he wasn't looking at Kairi anymore and mentally chided himself.

"So, what do you have to say about it?" He asked.

"Sora, relax. I'm not going to eat you." Naminé said to him, one eyebrow quirked.

Sora's face went red. "Sorry."

Riku chuckled lightly, and the sound helped Sora relax a little.

"Well, let's see." Naminé began, fiddling with the folds of Kairi's sarong. "You wouldn't remember this, Sora, but before you went to sleep I explained the process of the memory pod to you. Riku has explained to you and Kairi that the memory is like a deck of cards, but I always thought it was more like a chain."

It was Riku's turn to blush. "Sorry."

Naminé just smiled. "Not at all, Riku. A deck of cards is a very accurate description. But, just for today, the memory is a chain."

"Go on." Sora prompted when Naminé fell silent.

"When I disabled your memory, I didn't destroy your memories – I just took the links out of the chain. I didn't remove them entirely. They were still in your heart, even though they were no longer linked to your chain of memories." Her hands vaguely waved about, demonstrating removing links from a chain.

"So, when you gave me false memories you just linked them into my chain?" Sora asked.

Naminé smiled and nodded. "Yes. And when the time came to remove your false memories and restore your real memories, I used the same process. I gathered up all of your real memories and began to link them back into your chain." She paused. Her eyes, which had been fixed on Sora, suddenly fell to the floor. Her smile disappeared. "It was supposed to take months instead of a whole year, but there was a complication. Your disjointed memories went into Roxas, and he unknowingly shared them with a third person."

"Who was this third person?" Sora asked, curious.

Naminé just shook her head and smiled. "It doesn't matter. The third person passed away and Riku captured Roxas for me. DiZ created a virtual town for him to live in while we took your memories back from him."

"Riku captured Roxas?" Sora's head whirled with memories. He remembered meeting Roxas for the first time in The World That Never Was, when Roxas had boasted about defeating Riku. He remembered meeting DiZ, who shortly afterwards revealed himself to be the true Ansem the Wise shortly before his own demise. And he remembered heading into the virtual Twilight Town and seeing a small portion of Roxas' world.

"Sora?"

Sora shook his head slightly. "Sorry. Just lost in thought. Keep talking."

Naminé nodded. "Alright. We had all of your memories intact and we began to restore you. I worried that if you and Roxas didn't connect you would be a shadow of your former self, but Roxas made his own way to you with minimal prompting." She smiled as she remembered her blonde friend.

"So, why does Sora remember bits of Castle Oblivion?" Riku piped up.

Naminé looked directly at him. Riku met her stare. "I destroyed Sora's false memories from Castle Oblivion. They made me feel awful about what I did to him, and because I created them I could destroy them. But when Sora was there he gained some real memories. I couldn't destroy Sora's true memories – just unlink them from the chain."

"So, I still have memories from Castle Oblivion?" Sora asked.

Naminé nodded. "They're still in your heart, even if they're not connected to your chain of memories. Your memories were lost, but not forgotten." She smiled absently as she remembered that Sora had said the exact same thing to her before he had fallen asleep.

"So, will Sora start to remember things from Castle Oblivion?" Riku asked.

Naminé frowned. "It's hard to say. The memories aren't connected, so he won't remember them while he's conscious. But, while Sora is asleep, it's possible that he may start to remember more of them now that he knows about Castle Oblivion. His unlinked memories fell into the darkest depths of his heart, but by remembering one he has called all of them to the surface, into the light. But his heart will try to keep them from him, because they're not linked into the chain." As she spoke, one of her hands went up and began to gently tug on a lock of red hair absently.

"Actually, I had another dream last night." Sora said. Naminé and Riku stared at him "It was the Replica, but it was wearing Riku's clothes. It said..." Sora cleared his throat "It said that I didn't care about it at all, and that it was sick of looking at me."

Riku's eyebrow quirked. "You know that's not how I feel about you, right?"

Sora's cheeks went a little pink and he nodded. "I know. It was just hurtful to hear that from someone who looked just like you." Riku just smirked.

"Well, that changes things." Naminé cut in "I think that Sora will begin to remember more and more of Castle Oblivion as time goes by. Some of it will hurt you, Sora." She smiled "But I'd like to see you remember other parts of it."

Sora gave her a confused look.

"You were my only true friend." Naminé smiled sadly "I know that it wasn't much of a friendship, but it was all I had. We made a promise" She held up her pinkie finger and looked at it "that when you woke up we'd find each other and be friends for real. Of course, when you woke up you had no idea. But, when you came back here and saw Kairi every day I got a taste of being your real friend." She let her hand fall back to her lap and she smiled at Sora "That was enough for me."

Sora smiled too. "I look forward to remembering you, then." He laughed. "That sounds odd."

"I know it does, but that's the price I pay for being a Nobody." She suddenly twitched violently. Sora leaned forward so he could catch her if she fell down "Kairi's awakening now – I'll have to leave. But, before I do I need to tell you some other things."

"What sort of things?" Riku asked.

Naminé smiled again. "Things that Kairi doesn't say enough. She's very glad that you two are alive and well, and even happier that you've returned home to her. She knows that if something were to happen to you two she would crumble." Naminé giggled "She thinks of you two as her knights in shining armour."

Sora laughed at the mental image, but Riku just frowned. What sort of other psychotic things went on in that girl's brain?

"Oh, and one more thing." Naminé smiled and cocked her head to the left "She cares for you both very much, but she cares for Sora slightly more. If you know what I mean." She flipped Sora a suggestive wink – Sora's smile fell from his face and he stared at Naminé with a look of shock horror.

"That should cover everything. I hope Kairi calls me out more often; I've missed conversations." Naminé gently lay back down on the chair and closed her eyes.

"Goodbye, Naminé. But not for long, okay?" Sora said quickly, urgently. He felt bad for Naminé's isolation. But Naminé smiled and Sora relaxed a little.

"Not for long." She muttered. Within seconds she was asleep.

Sora turned to smile at Riku. "Well, that answered all of my - Riku? What's wrong?"

Riku was glaring at the sleeping girl with a look that could have belonged to the Replica. Pink spots were slowly forming on his cheeks like they always did when he was furious. Sora was shocked – what had the girls ever done to earn such a look of hatred?

"Riku?"

"Sora? Riku?" A yawn sounded and Kairi sat up. With a glance, Sora knew that Naminé was gone. "How'd it go? Did you contact Naminé?"

Just as Sora opened his mouth to tell her what Naminé had said, Riku's voice cut in.

"No. We didn't contact her." He scrambled to his feet "She didn't say a damn thing." And with that, Riku strode away, his long legs carrying him to the jetty before his friends even knew what was happening.

"Riku! Wait!" Sora raced after Riku, but Riku was already in his boat and untying it from the dock. Within seconds the boat was free and Riku was paddling as hard as he could. Sora seriously considered leaping into Riku's boat, but he decided against it. He reluctantly watched Riku's boat speed across the waves, knowing that when Riku wanted to be alone he wanted to be alone. Sora knew what his friend was like – he decided to give him some space.

Slowly, he turned away and walked up the jetty, wondering what on Earth had gotten into Riku.

-x-

**Hobo's Rant:**** Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far. ^_^ You rock my world. **


	4. Rescue me

Sora found Riku sprawled face-down on his queen sized bed later that afternoon. The days had come and gone when the boys had asked to enter each other's houses – these days they just walked right in and were treated like a member of the family. So Riku's parents didn't think anything of it when Sora let himself in through the back door, waved a greeting to them as he grabbed two cans of soft drink out of the fridge and climbed the stairs.

"Riku?" Sora called as he poked his head in through the doorway. "You in?"

Riku didn't move.

"Riku~" Sora smiled cheerfully "I have cola!"

Riku let out a loud grunt that sounded something like "You stole it from my fridge."

Sora walked in, stepping over the pile of dirty clothes. He cracked both cans open and sat on the end of Riku's bed. Riku moved his feet to the left so that Sora wouldn't sit on them or start up a round of "This little piggy" to try and cheer him up. But because Riku's bed was so large there was plenty of room for both gangly males.

"I opened it. You have to drink it now." Sora said as if talking to a small child. He sipped from one of the cans.

"You drink it." Came the muffled reply.

"How could I drink yours as well as mine? My teeth would rot and fall out. You won't let me rot my teeth alone, will you?" Sora smirked. That did the trick. Riku rolled over onto his back and sat up. His face was very pale and his nose was a little pink. Sora wouldn't say that he had been crying – he doubted if Riku would allow himself to cry – but he didn't look very cheerful.

"That's the way." Sora smiled encouragingly as Riku reluctantly took the can and sipped from it.

"So do you want to tell me what your tantrum was about?" Sora asked, smiling hopefully. Riku just glared at him. "Okay, I guess not."

They sat in silence for a minute. Sora watched Riku carefully as he chugged his cola, while Riku looked anywhere but at Sora and forgot about the can in his hands.

"That witch never knew when to shut her trap." Riku muttered.

"Riku?" Sora's gaze was concerned. Just what had Naminé said that had pissed his friend off so much?

"So Sora." Riku met Sora's gaze. "How_ do_ you feel about Kairi?" His voice was laced with sarcasm.

Sora was a little baffled by Riku's sudden question. He looked away. "She's my friend."

Riku made an odd noise with the back of his throat. "Just your friend?"

Sora looked directly into Riku's eyes and met a guarded expression. Why was Riku behaving this way? "Just my friend. She'd drive me mad if I ever dated her. Why?"

Riku nodded and sipped at his cola like it was no big deal. He shrugged.

But Sora wouldn't be put off. He had no idea why Riku cared what he thought of Kairi, but he knew that he wouldn't have asked without a very good reason.

"Riku." Sora glared at him "What the hell is up with you?"

Riku threw Sora a sceptical look from under his fringe. "You really have no idea, do you?"

"_She cares for you both very much, but she cares for Sora slightly more. If you know what I mean."_

Sora's glare dropped. Was that what this was about?

But before Sora could say anything, a black mobile phone began to ring on the desk. Riku clambered to his feet and strode across the room to answer it. Sora never ceased to wonder why Riku owned a mobile phone – Kairi was one of the only other kids on the island with one. But Riku had said that his parents gave it to him a few years ago in case of emergencies. It never left his room, however, so it kind of defeated the purpose of having a phone.

After checking the caller I.D. on the screen, Riku pressed a button and held the phone to his ear.

"What?" He thundered. Sora wondered who was on the other line and wondered if they cared that Riku was being rude.

Riku listened for a few seconds, and his pale face went even whiter. "What?" He murmured. Sora began to worry. Had somebody died?

"Are you sure?" A pause "And how?"

"Okay. We'll be there in five." He pressed a button and threw the phone back onto the desk.

"Sora, we have to go _now_.'"

-x-

"What took you two so long?" Kairi glared as Riku and Sora sprinted across the beach. She was standing in the doorway of the shack with her hands on her hips, and was now wearing her baggy shirt over the bikini. "Were you making out or something? Get in here!"

Riku just glared at her as he strode past, but Sora was a little insulted. Riku hadn't said a word for the whole trip back to the island, only that they needed to hurry up. And now Kairi was angry for him being late – had the world gone mad?

But as he walked into the shack he crashed into the back of Riku, who had stopped dead. Protesting, he learned around Riku and froze himself.

Lying on a deckchair unconscious and wrapped in Kairi's sarong was a fifteen year old Riku. He looked identical to how he looked in Sora's dreams, only his shirt, boots and gloves were lying in a heap in the sand. His bare flesh was covered in scars and scratches, old and new. Compared to how peaceful Riku looked in his sleep, Sora thought that he looked angry in his sleep. Was this...?

"The Replica!" Riku hissed. "What is it doing here?"

Kairi shrugged. "It washed up on to the beach, so I dried it off, took its wet clothes off and put it here. I was afraid that it'd wake up before you guys got here – I was scared it might attack me."

Riku shrugged. "You're Naminé's Somebody, it wouldn't dream of attacking you. And besides, it's not really vicious, it was just programmed to be psychotic." Kairi roller her eyes. Vicious and psychotic were almost exactly the same thing under that context. But Riku just ignored her.

Sora slowly walked up to the Replica and sank to his knees next to the chair. He learned in and examined the Replica's face almost as carefully as he'd examined Riku's face that morning. It was identical to Riku's face at the age of fifteen. Only its mouth was twisted into a frown and its eyebrows furrowed downwards.

Sora shook its shoulder gently. Even though Riku had told him of the almost manic behaviour, Sora couldn't bring himself to be nasty to anyone, let alone someone who looked just like his friend "Riku. Hey, Riku. Wake up."

The real Riku landed a sharp kick on the leg of the deckchair, causing the whole thing to jolt. The Replica's eyes opened slowly, and he glanced about the room without really seeing it. His eyes were identical to Riku's, and just as dull as Riku's had been the night before when Sora had opened one of his eyelids. Sora shivered.

"Mm? Where am I?" It muttered, blinking dumbly a few times. Its voice was almost identical to Riku's, but only a note or so higher. It looked at Sora and frowned with confusion – Sora could see its dull eyes slowly sharpen into focus.

"Sora?"

Sora smiled. "Hi, Riku."

The Replica looked away. "M'thirsty." It muttered. Kairi stepped forward with a water bottle she had filled at the stream earlier. The Replica took it without a word and gulped down half of it. When he'd had enough he shook his head, coughed up a bit of water and examined the people in the room more carefully.

"Riku?" It asked. Riku nodded grimly.

"Hey there. Long time no see."

"Who are you?" It gestured to Kairi.

"Oh, I'm Naminé's Somebody." She smiled. "Name's Kairi."

Riku groaned. "Shouldn't have said that, Kai."

Before Kairi could ask why, the Replica was on its feet and lurching towards Kairi. Kairi let out a shriek and hid behind Riku. But she needn't have worried – as soon as the Replica was on its feet it crashed to the ground and vomited up a huge puddle of foamy liquid.

Sora grabbed it under each arm and hoisted it back onto the deckchair – an easy feat now that he was sixteen and a few inches taller than the Replica. He wiped the Replica's mouth with the corner of Kairi's sarong, ignoring the girl's protests.

"Steady on, man. You could hurt yourself if you stand up too quickly." Sora smiled, almost like a nurse would smile at a difficult patient.

But he might as well have been telling the deck chair to steady on – the second the Replica's head rested on the headrest it fell into a deep sleep.

The three teenagers looked at each other, a little shocked.

"You say you found it in the water?" Riku asked, not looking up from the sleeping Replica. "Must have swallowed a lot of sea water."

Kairi shot him an odd look. "Isn't it supposed to be dead?"

Riku nodded, but then paused. "Well, I don't think 'dead' was the right word to use. I fought and won – it fell down, melted into a puddle of purple goo and then evaporated." He scratched his chin. "I suppose you could call that 'fading into darkness'."

Kairi cocked her head to the side, thinking "But fading into darkness doesn't necessarily mean you'll die. Sora turned into a Heartless once and he's okay, and you gave over to the darkness but here you are." Riku visibly flinched – it was not a secret that he was deeply ashamed of his actions. Kairi grimaced "Sorry. But still, you get what I mean, right? Hey Sora, isn't that right. Sora?"

She looked over to her brunette friend, expecting backup, but Sora was still staring intently at the Replica's face. His hand was still making a wiping motion on the Replica's chin, but all the vomit was gone and the sarong had slipped from his grasp – to Kairi it looked almost like he was stroking the Replica's jaw. His face was turned away so the others couldn't see the trance-like expression Sora wore as he stared intently at the sleeping Replica.

Sora's mind was slow, so slow he didn't realize that both the vomit and the sarong were gone. But as he stared at the face below his, he forgot for a moment that it wasn't really Riku. Looking down on the worried and careworn face of his friend, Sora's gut clenched up. For a minute he was fourteen again, looking up to his strong friend – his hero. Why was Riku down? Why did he look so miserable? What could Sora have done to prevent it? The young boy who was strong enough to carry the whole world on his shoulders was out for the count. He felt like curling up into a small ball and sobbing out the anguish over his sleeping friend. A hero's right to cry.

But then he was sixteen again – older and stronger than the beaten Riku. The feelings of despair vanished, and in their place a fiery sense of protection and possession. The child lying on the deckchair needed a firm guiding hand, someone to take care of him. Their entire existence together reversed – suddenly Riku was light and Sora was darkness. Riku bore the burden of the Kingdom Key while Sora wimped out and gave into darkness. He was older, he was stronger, and he was meaner. He would never let any soul harm this battered little boy while _he_ still drew breath. It was his turn to take care of Riku while he slept.

"Sora?"

Sora blinked. All thoughts of protection vanished. The boy whose chin he was stroking was not Riku, but the Replica. His hand dropped.

"Hey, Sora. You alright?"

Sora turned slowly. The world around him seemed fake – everything moved too slowly and every sound was muffled. Was this what it was like to be a phony? Sora's head swam.

But then there was light. The concerned face of the seventeen year old Riku loomed in on his. Sora saw the longer hair, the smoother skin and the brighter eyes; the face of a happy, healthy teenager. Sora was no longer sixteen, fourteen. He was seven years old again, staring into the face of another child who was big enough to be an adult. He was small enough to be picked up, cuddled. To play and not worry about a thing like the fates of the worlds. He felt like a tiny puppy – something to be treasured and loved. He resisted the sudden urge to throw himself into Riku's arms to be stroked and petted.

But then he was old – much, much older. He was eighty four. His hands and face were wrinkled, his eyes were far away, but his heart was filled with a lifetime of love and sorrow. And as he stared into the face of someone who he had loved for as long as he could remember, someone who had shared a very long and tiring life with him, he felt his old heart begin to give out. He had loved so many and lost so much he felt that he was going to explode. But then he felt empty – so, so empty. Was he going to die? But so long as Riku's old and frail body caught his when he fell down, he didn't mind.

Sora passed out.

-x-

When Sora woke up, some hours later, all he could smell was Riku. And dirty socks.

His head pounded horribly – was this what adults called a hangover? Sora had only had a few sips of beer in his life, certainly not enough to get drunk. But if this was the sort of headache he'd face the next morning, Sora doubted he'd ever drink.

One of Sora's eyes opened a fraction, expecting to be stabbed by light – but instead a cool darkness obscured his vision. Thank God. Sora's eyes opened slowly and he looked about. It must have been very early or very late. He noticed that he was in Riku's bed, tucked under the blankets. Riku himself was stretched out on top of the covers next to Sora, still wearing the clothes he had worn all day. After a second of close examination, Sora noticed that Riku's eyes were wide open and staring at Sora's face. What was that expression? It was too dark to see. The room was dark, but a street light outside shone through the window and illuminated the room just enough for Sora to see Riku's face, but it would take several minutes before he'd be able to see the expression Riku wore.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" He asked. Riku jumped violently – obviously he had no idea Sora had opened his eyes. Sora cringed. How egotistical could he be? Of course Riku wasn't staring at him.

"Oh good, you're awake and as weird as ever."

Sora cringed. _Play it stupid_, he told himself. "Hmm?"

"Right, well don't ever do that to me again. You scared the living daylights out of me."

Sora paused. Last thing he remembered was being in Riku's room and drinking cola. "What did I do to scare you?"

"You passed out when we saw the Replica."

"We saw what?"

Riku paused. "You don't remember? Kairi found the Replica washed up on the beach."

Sora paused. He did seem to remember something a little like that...

"Oh yeah." He said, remembering the previous afternoon. He had been wiping vomit from the Replica's mouth, and then he remembered zoning out. He couldn't remember what he was thinking about, but he supposed it didn't matter. "That's right. I remember now. Heh heh" He smiled "Silly me."

Because of the dark, Sora couldn't really make out Riku's expression, but he was a little glad he couldn't. He wasn't in the mood for teasing. But Riku just reached over and affectionately ruffed up Sora's hair.

"Well, make sure you drink plenty of water, okay? You're too heavy to be carried around."

Sora made a face of embarrassment. "You carried me?"

Riku chuckled "It was the only way to get you here. I didn't want to take you to your house and make your parents worry. Besides, they thought you were spending the night here anyway. But yes. I had to lug your lard ass up all those stairs. So you owe me." Riku smirked.

Sora shrugged "Fine then. I owe you one. Do you want me to clean your room or something?"

Riku laughed. "I carried you here all the way from the dock. Come on, Sora, you can do better than that."

Sora smiled. "How about I fix that leak in your boat?"

"What leak?"

"The leak I put in it with my lard ass."

The two boys dissolved into a fit of laugher. Now that Sora was awake and with good company he felt wide awake and cheerful. His headache was beginning to slowly ebb away.

"So," Sora began once the laugher had died down. "What did you do with the Replica?"

Riku coughed into his hand. "We left it on the island." Sora half sat up, but Riku pushed him back down with a firm hand. "You shouldn't sit up so quickly. Give it a few more minutes."

"Did you leave it any food or water?" Sora asked. The Replica wasn't a human but he was sure it still deserved basic human rights.

"That was Kairi's job. She said she brought it some food and left it a note" Riku snorted "as if it could read. She didn't like being alone with it, but I had to take care of you so I'm assuming she did. If she didn't I wouldn't hold it against her. That thing was never supposed to be here anyway."

As Sora listened, he noticed the note of contempt in Riku's voice. "Riku, why do you hate the Replica?"

Riku sighed. He settled onto his side to face Sora – Sora did the same thing. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness, so he saw Riku's look of disgust. "If someone came along, pretending to be you, and decided to pick a fight with you over who was better would you stand for it?" Sora shook his head "But then the imposter had the audacity to go and pick on your best friend – that'd piss you off, right?"

Sora smiled "No imposter of me could ever beat you down, Riku." He chuckled "You know that."

"And it seems that my impostor couldn't beat you down either." Riku smiled. "But still – if it tried to trick me into hating you, you'd get pretty angry, wouldn't you?"

Sora nodded. "But still – why do you call it an 'it'? Doesn't it have a gender?"

Riku just laughed.

"You're thinking dirty thoughts, aren't you?" Sora laughed. Riku shook his head.

"Not really. But when it met me it tried to make itself look taller by wearing boots with heels. So, I bet you could imagine what would happen if we ever saw each other in front of a urinal..."

They both laughed again.

"Straying _away_ from your crotch, Riku, why do you call it an 'it'?"

The laughter in Riku's voice was gone when he spoke again, a few seconds later. "Because it isn't human, and it shouldn't exist."

Sora felt that those words were kind of harsh, but he supposed they were true. Riku had every right to hate the Replica. But, Sora decided, he would always be nice to the Replica. It seemed to him that it was just in need of a friend, as the real Riku was at that age.

"Wow. Talk about raising ethical issues." Riku shook his head a little and smiled. He checked his digital wristwatch, pressing a button on the side to make it light up. The small green light shone on Riku's face, and for the very first time Sora was struck by just how... well, how handsome his friend was. His gut jumped about a little. But then the little green light disappeared and Sora smacked himself mentally, feeling his cheeks burn in the dark.

"... At eleven PM, no less." Riku sighed, letting his hand drop back down onto the sheets. "Oh well, at least it's not too late."

"Late? I'm usually asleep by nine!" Sora exclaimed.

Riku laughed "No wonder you're always so disgustingly happy in the mornings."

"Did you get any sleep?" Sora asked.

Riku shrugged. "I'd say I fell asleep at dusk."

"Huh." Sora yawned suddenly. "How did I pass out?"

Riku gently yanked at a strand of Sora's hair. "Your mop tried to strangle you."

They both laughed.

"Seriously though?" Riku smiled "You were wiping the vomit from the Replica's face, and you kind of zoned out. I dunno. Kairi and I were debating over something, and when we looked over at you, you were sort of... stroking the Replica's face. I called your name and you looked at me like I was a ghost. You were shivering and you were so pale." Riku shuddered "And then you just toppled over and we couldn't wake you up."

Sora frowned. "Huh. Well, I'm sorry about that. I remember looking at the Replica up-close, and then I had all these weird thoughts. That's all I remember."

"Weird thoughts?" Riku frowned "What sort of weird thoughts?"

"I don't know. It felt like my head was about to fall off." Sora shrugged "I guess they weren't that important."

Riku rubbed his eye. "I wondered if meeting the Replica would have an effect on you."

Sora frowned. "What do you mean?"

Riku shrugged. "I never thought you'd pass out, but I thought that you might have some weird flashbacks or something. I'm not sure."

"Well, so long as it doesn't happen again I suppose it's not really important."

"Speaking of the unimportant, did you tell Kairi what Naminé said?" Riku smirked. Sora laughed.

"I told her everything and now we're going out."

Riku froze up. Sora watched curiously as Riku's smirk slowly slid from his face. But after a second, he cleared his throat and forced a smile. Sora smiled – how he loved to rile his friend up on occasion.

"Oh really? That's great." Riku said stiffly

But Sora just laughed, trying to hold onto his sinking gut. _So I was right. He did freak out._ "I'm joking, I told her nothing."

Riku paused, forced a laugh and flopped onto his back, grinning like an idiot. "You shouldn't trick me like that, Sora." Riku mumbled.

"I could never date her when I know how much youlike her, Riku." Sora smiled, cutting through Riku's thoughts. His face was smiling, but on the inside his guts were knotted. He knew that Riku liking Kairi was a bad thing, but he wasn't sure why. But still, he'd decided that morning that he'd support them both when they decided to go out together. No sense in changing his mind now.

Riku's initial reaction was to laugh. "You think... You think I like _Kairi_?"

Sora paused. "Well, yeah. Why else would you freak out like you did today?"

Riku just laughed. "You couldn't be more mistaken. Do _you_ like Kairi?"

Sora shook his head. "I know I did when Destiny Islands was destroyed by the Heartless, but when I came back I didn't anymore."

Riku smirked "Why not?"

Sora shrugged "I suppose I just grew out of it. Those few years really changed me." He smiled "She's more like a sister to me now."

Riku smirk turned into a smile. "Me too."

"So, if you don't like Kairi, then who do you like?" Sora gave Riku a cheeky smile.

"Don't be a fag, Sora." Riku smiled.

"Don't be a homophobe, Riku." Sora's smile dropped into an icy glare. Riku was a homophobe? Unbelievable. Sora felt his high spirits take a plunge.

Riku paused. "Why, are you...?"

Sora sighed and shook his head. "No, but I don't like people calling other people 'fags'. I've met a few gay people and they're all very nice."

Riku paused. "Who did you meet who was gay?"

"Cloud."

They both laughed. Riku had never personally met Cloud, but Sora had told him all about his adventure and the people he met along the way. In fact, Sora had gone into such detail Riku felt like he knew them all too.

"Okay then, Mr. It's-totally-not-gay-to-act-like-a-girl, who do _you_ like?" Riku asked when they'd stopped laughing.

"Ha ha! I have infected you with my homosexual ways!" Sora laughed, imitating an evil genius. The imitation was so poor Riku burst into laughter.

"What time is it?" Sora asked once the laughter had died down. Riku checked his watch again – but after their little conversation about gays and homophobes, Sora squeezed his eyes shut so he wouldn't see Riku's face.

"Midnight."

"Wow, really? Seems like we've been here for hours."

Riku shrugged "Technically we have. Only we were asleep."

Sora sighed. "I feel all tired again."

"Really? You slept for seven hours." Riku laughed.

"Yeah, well I'm tired again." Sora yawned. Riku caught himself yawning too.

"I suppose you're right. We should go to sleep." Riku agreed. He yanked his shirt off, tossed it across the room and burrowed under the blanket. He came to a rest on his side, facing Sora, who hadn't moved an inch.

"Well, good night Sora." Riku smiled.

"Night." Sora rolled over. "Don't let the bed bugs bite."

Riku laughed "If you bite me I'll make you sleep on the floor."

Sora just laughed. He didn't feel tired at all – He just wanted an excuse not to tell Riku who he liked. He stared at the wall for what seemed like an hour, mind blissfully blank. But just as he was about to give up and roll over see if Riku was still awake, the bed shook slightly. Riku was sitting up. Sora's eyes snapped shut.

He could hear the bed creek as Riku learned over, and feel his breath on his neck when Riku's mouth came to a stop centimetres from his ear. Some strands of Riku's hair tickled his skin lightly. He fought the urge to scratch.

"I care too. I wish I could tell you how much. How I always will." Riku whispered. He paused for a second, his breath caught in his throat. Then he learned down and pressed a gentle kiss to Sora's neck. With that, he lowered himself back down and shut his eyes.

Sora felt numb. So wonderfully numb. He knew that thoughts should be running through his head like a running creek, but everything was frozen stiff.

Riku liked him. Riku liked _him_.

Sora smiled. Suddenly, nothing else seemed to matter anymore.


	5. Play with me

_Disclaimer: What are you talking about, of course I own Kingdom Hearts. _

-x-

Sora was the first one to the play island the next morning. He was eager to meet the Replica, even though he had no idea what to expect. As he was tying his boat to the jetty, he looked about. The day was clear and sunny – another perfect tropical day on Destiny. Maybe a little too hot, but nothing a dip in the ocean wouldn't fix. Sora had even remembered to bring a beach towel.

When he finished, he looked about. Something silver by the paopu tree caught his eye – Riku?

But Riku's boat wasn't at the dock. After a few seconds of confusion, Sora slapped his palm to his forehead. Of course! The Replica. How could he have forgotten?

Slowly, Sora walked down the beach. What would he say to the Replica? He wondered what it'd be like as he climbed the stairs and emerged out onto the bridge. The Replica was sitting on the paopu tree, almost exactly as Riku had done two days before. Sora saw that he was only wearing his scraggly pair of dark blue pants. As Sora approached, he noticed just how serene the scene was – how right it seemed. Riku framed by the gentle morning sun. But then he remembered that the real Riku was back on the main island and the air didn't smell quite as sweet.

"Morning." Sora said as he approached. "Sleep well?"

The Replica turned to look at him. A shiver went up Sora's spine – it was identical to Riku, but its mean glare and sorrowful demeanour seemed absolutely wrong. Was this the path Riku only just missed? Sora felt a wave of gratitude to King Mickey, who had helped Riku through his struggle with darkness when Sora wasn't there.

"I did." It said, almost as if it didn't quite know how to be pleasant. "Where am I?"

Sora smiled and learned against the tree. He pointed to the main island "That's Destiny Island, the largest in the Destiny Chain of the south Pacific Ocean. This little island is the 'play island'. All the kids used to come here and play, but nobody really uses it since the PlayStation was invented." Sora smiled up at the Replica "Most days it's just Riku, Kairi and I out here."

The Replica nodded. Its hand stroked the trunk of the tree gently. "This place feels right. Riku was born here, wasn't he?"

Sora nodded. "Do you know everything about Riku?"

The Replica didn't reply. It simply stroked at the wood beneath it. "I missed you and Naminé." It commented absently after a moment.

Sora sighed. "About that, Riku. I don't remember a thing of Castle Oblivion."

It frowned as it glanced over at Sora. "Castle Oblivion?"

Sora sighed again. "That white place where you and I fought. I don't remember any of it."

The Replica just sighed, its gaze returning to the ocean. "The world is insane. I remember false stuff and you forget all the important stuff."

Sora wasn't sure what to say. Had the Replica always been this... depressed? Riku had described a fiery creature, not this shrivelled up mess.

"Do you know how you got here?" He asked.

The Replica just shrugged. "I have no idea. There was water and then there was land."

Sora sighed. _Can't this thing just give me a straight answer?_

"The original's here." The Replica said suddenly. Sora stood up straight, craning his neck to see.

And sure enough, there was the silver-haired teenager, tying his boat to the dock. Sora's heart began to beat faster.

That morning, Sora had woken up before Riku, and spent a good fifteen minutes just staring at the sleeping boy. But when Riku had finally woken up, Sora practically ran for his house for the simple reason that he was scared. Scared of the wonderful thing he had discovered the previous night? Maybe. Sora couldn't say exactly. But he was still afraid.

But, watching Riku straighten up and beginning to dawdle along the beach, Sora just wanted him to hurry up and get up to the tree. Talking to the Replica was awkward, and bringing Riku in might just make it more awkward, but Sora just ached for his company.

Sora glanced over to the Replica, only to find it staring at him. "What?"

The Replica smirked. "That face. You used to make it at Naminé."

Sora frowned. "What?"

The Replica sighed in a very defeated way. "I had false memories of Riku's childhood implanted in me. In those memories you loved Naminé. We used to fight over her."

"_If I win, I'm captain! And if you win-"_

"_I get to share a paopu fruit with Kairi."_

"_What?"_

"_Deal? The winner gets to share a paopu fruit with Kairi."_

"Did we now?" Sora smiled at the sudden flashback. "I can believe that."

The Replica shot him an odd look. "But I never thought you and my original-"

"Cut it out." Sora glared. "Keep your thoughts to yourself."

The Replica smirked – ah yes, the smirk from Sora's dreams. It seemed to him that without someone to pick on, the Replica became a depressed heap. _Oh boy._ He thought. _This could make this thing impossible to hang out with._

"Thought I might find you two here."

Sora turned and smiled – Riku was strolling along the bridge casually. His face was blank, but when Sora smiled Riku's smile grew. _I wonder if he knows that I know?_ Sora mused. He could feel his heart accelerate.

"Morning." Sora smiled as Riku came to stand next to him. He wanted to say something else, but couldn't think of a thing to say. With a slight jolt he realized that he was acting like a giddy schoolgirl. He mentally smacked himself and hoisted himself up to sit on the tree, next to the Replica. _Play it cool._

"So, erm, Riku." Riku turned to the Replica "Should I call you 'Riku'?"

The Replica shrugged. "Call me Fake, if you want."

Sora smiled. "What about 'Repliku'?"

Riku raised his eyebrows. "That sounds lame."

Sora shrugged. "Better than Fake."

The Replica didn't look up, but when it spoke its voice was flat. "Just call me whatever. I'll answer to anything."

Sora grinned at Riku "I think Repliku is funny."

Riku just rolled his eyes. "Call it whatever you want, I'm just gonna call it Riku."

"_Don't call me an it!"_ The Replica thundered suddenly. Sora jumped but Riku just glared. The Replica's angry face melted into a nasty smirk. "You know I'm a male, don't you Riku?"

Sora and Riku burst into laughter at the same time when they remembered their conversation about the Replica's gender the night before.

"Oh go ahead. Laugh." The Replica jumped down from the tree and began to walk away, but Sora jumped down from the tree and grabbed his shoulder as he passed.

"Don't leave, Riku. We're sorry." He smiled, but the Replica just glared.

"I bet you'd know how big Riku is, seeing as how you suck him off all the time." He hissed. Sora's smile fell as his gut clenched up. Low blow.

"That was uncalled for." Sora glared. _Don't let him get the better of you, Sora. He's just trying to break your defences. _He thought to himself, restraining himself from punching the Replica upside the head.

But as Sora managed to calm down, Riku stepped forward and landed a heavy punch right on the Replica's nose, producing a sickening crunch. Sora cringed as the Replica cursed and fell down, holding his face.

"_Apologize!_" Riku raged. "_Now!_"

The Replica just smirked. The tiniest drop of blood began to dribble from his nose. "Aww, what's the matter, Riku? Sora not putting out?" He laughed – the sound was like a dog barking.

Riku went to throw another punch but Sora caught his fist and pulled him back.

"He feeds off negative emotion. He gets all gloomy when you're nice to him." Sora muttered quickly. Riku smirked and offered a hand to help the Replica up. When the Replica ignored him, Riku simply reached down and yanked him up by the elbow. He turned and took the Replica's spot on the tree.

"So, what should we do today?" Riku asked, eyes on the horizon.

The Replica shrugged, his sullen mood returning. He wiped at his bloodied nose forlornly.

Sora tugged at his shirt, trying to waft some air into it. "How about we go for a swim? It's not even ten AM and it's already a thousand degrees."

Riku smiled. "Good idea. Last one in the water's a rotten egg!" He took a running jump and leapt straight from the small island and into the water, fully clothed. The splash was so huge that the top of it could be seen by the Replica from his spot near the paopu tree. Sora paused to tug his shirt off and toss it over the tree trunk before he raced after Riku, laughing the whole way.

But the Replica didn't jump in. He walked to the edge of the tiny island and watched the other two splashing about in the water below. It looked like fun. But he stayed where he was.

"Riku!" Sora called out, spitting out a mouthful of salty water. "Jump in!"

The Replica paused. "I… I can't swim."

Sora and Riku looked at each other and laughed. Riku began to float on his back while Sora swam to the miniature cliff face and began to scale up a ladder the Replica hadn't noticed. When he reached the top he shook the water out of his hair like a dog, spraying the Replica with water. He smiled at the Replica.

"It's just water, you won't melt. And you have to learn how to swim sometime. Come on, I'll show you." Sora flashed his white teeth, but the Replica just took a few steps backwards. Sora laughed and grabbed the Replica's hand and tugged him to the edge.

"On five." Sora smiled. The Replica was staring down at the water in absolute horror. Sora squeezed his hand reassuringly. "One." He said, loudly. The Replica squeezed his eyes shut.

"Five!" He shouted and jumped – pulling the unsuspecting Replica down with him. The terrifying fall lasted barely a second, then there was a splash and it was over.

Sora's head bobbed up to the surface, laughing. His hand was being crushed in the Replica's grip, and when he looked over he saw the Replica thrashing about, desperately trying to keep his head above the water. Absolutely terrified of drowning, he began to panic. "Help!" He managed to shout.

"Oi! Stand up, you twit!" Riku shouted. The Replica paused, forcing his feet downwards. When his feet connected with the sand, he reluctantly stood up – the water only reached his shoulders. He stood, stunned for a second or two. Sora began to laugh, followed by Riku.

Fury burned in the Replica's chest, but after a second of glaring, he faltered. Looking down at his bare feet through the crystal water, he began to smile at the silliness of it all. Not smirking – actually smiling. Soon he began to grin and then he started to chuckle. Before he knew what was going on, the Replica was doing something he had never done properly in his life – He laughed.

"Silly Repliku." Sora laughed, pulling his hand away from the Replica's "It's not that bad. See?" He sent a small splash in the direction of the Replica.

The Replica smirked – more a cheeky smirk than a malicious smirk – and sent a larger splash right back. He laughed again, enjoying the sensation of his lips tugging upwards into a smile and the cool water washing his sweat away. He couldn't ever remember enjoying himself like this – was this what they called 'fun'?

But before Sora could make an even bigger splash, a set of hands grabbed Sora's ankles and he felt himself get tugged roughly under the water. He kicked his legs free and opened his eyes – Riku was floating a few feet away, wearing a devious grin. Sora launched himself at his friend, grabbing his shoulders and trying to force him deeper into the water. Riku replied likewise. But the water they were wrestling in was very shallow, and they both found themselves standing up after a few seconds.

They broke apart when they both realized it was a draw. Riku returned to floating on his back while Sora turned to talk to the Replica, who was watching him with a bewildered smile.

"What was that supposed to be?" He asked.

Sora smiled. "Play fighting. Riku and I do it a lot."

The Replica's eyebrows shot up. "Do you hurt each other?"

Sora grinned and shook his head. "No, we don't want to hurt each other. We're only playing."

"Not like that time you pushed me over and I sprained my ankle." Riku reminded him from several feet away.

Sora groaned, pretending to be angry. "Oh, come on, I was nine. And I said I was sorry about that."

Riku laughed and splashed at Sora, but he was so far away the splash fell short. The three lapsed into a comfortable silence. Riku floated on his back, Sora dipped his head under the water and the Replica just stood where he was, gently running his fingers through the cold water.

"You have to learn how to swim, Riku." Sora said suddenly, after several minutes. He turned to the Replica. "You won't learn by standing in the shallows like that. Come out here into deeper water."

The Replica shook his head. "No thanks. I'll be fine."

Sora swam up to him and grabbed him by the hand again, pulling him out into the sunlight. "Come on, you won't drown." He grinned. Riku smiled at the sight – he knew that when Sora got that determined grin going nothing was about to stop him. The Replica seemed to realize the same thing and allowed himself to be tugged along.

Sora came to a stop where the Replica could only just reach the bottom. The Replica hung onto his arm pathetically, trying to keep his head above the water. "Okay, Riku. See what my arms are doing? Watch my legs. This is how you tread water. C'mon, try it." Sora said, demonstrating the 'sculling' manoeuvre. The Replica reluctantly let go of Sora's arm and began to flail about in the water, panicking again. Somehow, Sora managed to calm him down and show him how to do it properly. Riku watched on from a distance, an amused smile on his face. He listened with one ear as he gazed about idly.

"No, you don't flap your arms up and down like that, you look like a drowning bird. See here, you move your arms side to side in that infinite symbol, like an eight on its side. Yeah, that's the way. You gotta kick your legs slowly, do it like this. See? That way you save a lot of energy. Yeah. Like that."

Riku briefly paused to wonder just how Sora was managing to get along so well with the prickly Replica. Was it just his sunny personality, or was it something else?

"Oi, Riku! Look at him, he's treading water!" Sora called out after a few minutes. Riku looked over, and sure enough, bobbing gently with the waves were two grinning heads. He raised his hands out of the water and clapped.

"Bravo." He smiled. "Teach him how to swim now."

"Oh, Kairi's here." Sora smiled. For indeed, the auburn-haired girl was rowing her tiny dinghy across the waves a little way away. Sora shouted and waved to get her attention. Kairi waved back and continued on her course to the jetty. Barely two minutes later, Kairi's boat was secured and the girl had dived into the water by the jetty and was swimming over to meet her friends. Sora led the Replica back to the shallows to begin swimming lessons.

"You-" Riku pointed at the Replica "-be nice to her." He warned. The Replica just glared at him, wondering to himself if he could ever be mean to Naminé's Somebody.

Kairi arrived a minute or so later, free styling clumsily. She waded up and took her spot in the shade of the small island. "Hot day today." She commented idly.

"How's Naminé?" The Replica asked.

Kairi smiled awkwardly. It was pretty clear she had no idea how to interact with the Replica. "She's well."

The Replica waded over to her, causing Kairi to back up until her back pushed into the rock of the wall. The Replica got closer and closer, until he was close enough to kiss her. Kairi held her breath nervously – she was offended by his invasion of personal space, but she wasn't sure how to tell him to back up.

The Replica peered into her eyes, his eyebrows pulled into a concentrating expression, studying her as she had never been studied before. Kairi thought that she could almost feel the Replica staring right into her soul with that piercing gaze. It seemed as if everything she was made of was laid out bare for him as he stared into her very essence, the stuff that made her Kairi. She felt naked. But while she could feel herself cowering against the rock that made the wall of the small island, Kairi could not make herself look away. She felt almost like a rodent, hypnotized by a deadly snake before being eaten. Neither of them blinked. Neither of them breathed.

"You have the same eyes." The Replica finally whispered, retreating to a respectable three feet. Kairi blinked a few times. What the hell had just happened?

Sora just looked as confused as Kairi, but Riku watched on from a distance, a thoughtful frown etching his face.

Riku suddenly cleared his throat. It was almost as if a spell of tension was broken. The Replica practised treading water in the shallows, Kairi dunked her head under and Sora attempted to sneak up to Riku to start another wrestling match. "You know," Riku began. The three teenagers stopped and looked at him "I think it's time for Mr. Replica to tell us exactly what he's doing here."

Sora and Kairi looked at each other, but the Replica just stared at Riku. The morning of fun had had a massive impact on him – after only an hour of being treated as an equal, he had ditched most of his cocky air. But now some of it was returning in the stare he was giving his original.

"Does it really matter?" He asked, the stare slowly intensifying into a glower.

Riku sneered right back. "Yes, it does."

"Hey guys, come on, relax a little," Kairi began, but she was silenced by the simultaneous glares of the two Rikus.

_They're more alike than they think they are._ Sora laughed internally.

"Well?" Riku snarled. Sora couldn't tell quite what had gotten into him.

"I was called here." The Replica snapped. "I felt the tug of my fake little heartstrings, and I came."

"What?" Riku barked in reply "That doesn't even make sense! Why can't you just give one straight answer, for once in your fake little existence-"

"I _have_ given you a straight answer!" The Replica shouted, advancing menacingly. "But if you're just too stupid to understand, that's your problem and not mine."

Riku leapt at the Replica, but luckily Sora happened to be close enough to Riku to hold him back. He practically jumped on Riku's back and pinned his arms to his sides desperately while Riku thrashed about for almost a minute. The Replica tried to advance onto Riku, but Kairi pushed him back roughly – he bended to her will without much of a fight. Sora wasn't really strong enough to hold his bigger friend back, but something about Sora's touch seemed to calm him down enough to stop struggling (Once he realized that he was being held back, that is). Sora still clung to him just in case.

"Let's get out and dry off." Kairi said to the Replica carefully. "I brought you a surprise."

All of the boys shot Kairi a confused look, but Kairi just smiled at the Replica. "Come on Riku. I can call you Riku, right?" The Replica nodded. Kairi smiled and made a gesture for him to follow her as she began to wade out of the water. Reluctantly, the Replica obeyed. The two waded towards the beach.

Riku and Sora watched them go silently.

"He's like a love-sick puppy, isn't he?" Sora smiled after a few seconds.

"What, and you're not?" Riku smirked over his shoulder at Sora. Sora gave Riku a confused look. "You can let go of me now, you know."

Sora realized that he was still restraining Riku tightly. He blushed and let go. "Sorry."

Riku just shrugged it off. "Eh." He muttered. "Let's get out of here." He began to swim in the opposite direction Kairi and the Replica had taken. Sora followed, breast stroking slowly, not paying attention to where Riku was leading him. When the sand finally levelled up into a beach, Sora realized that they had swum over to the next beach, by the obstacle course. The spot where he stood was once home to the raft the trio had built to explore the ocean with.

Riku stepped out of the water and made straight for the shade of the nearest tree. Sora splashed about in the shallows.

"So," Sora asked when Riku was comfortably propped up against a tree trunk "Just what got you so riled up back there?"

Riku ran his fingers through his dripping hair, as he usually did when thinking or frustrated. "Did you see the way he stared at Kairi? For a second I thought he was going to attack her, or at least try to kiss her."

Sora smiled, bemused "But I thought you didn't like Kairi?"

Riku rolled his eyes "Just because I don't have a romantic interest in her it doesn't mean that I don't still care for her. And if he'd touched her, just the slightest bit," His voice was threatening "I'd have ripped him from limb to limb."

Sora just laughed. "I think Kairi can take care of herself."

Riku shook his head "Did you see her face? He had her hypnotized. It must have been Naminé who made her freeze up like that or something, I don't know, but for those few seconds he had total control and there was nothing Kairi could have done to defend herself."

"And that pissed you off?"

"No, it just reminded me that he shouldn't be here. He pissed me off by calling me stupid." Riku's foot lashed out and kicked at the sand.

Sora smiled "Really? You know that's not true. Besides, if you're stupid it just makes him stupid."

Riku sighed, resting his head back against the tree "I know that. But I can't figure out _why_ he's here. I should have finished him off, but here he is." He deliberately banged the back of his head against the tree trunk. "He knows it and he's just rubbing it in."

"I wonder why he won't tell us how he got here or why?" Sora mumbled absently, picking up a handful of sand and letting it slip through his fingers.

"He's probably hiding something."

"_I was called here." The Replica snapped. "I felt the tug of my fake little heartstrings, and I came."_

Unless...

"Hey Riku? Doesn't it seem odd that he showed up the day after you told me about Castle Oblivion?" Sora asked, suddenly. "The very next day after I learned who he was and what he was, he just turns up here. It's a little too convenient."

Riku sat up straight, eyes wide. "Oh my God, you're right."

"But what does it mean?" Sora pondered, digging his hand down into the sand. The waves splashed over his lower torso roughly, making him laugh. Sora loved sitting in the shallows to be pushed around by the tide.

"Do you think your memories and his appearance are connected?" Riku asked.

"Now that I think about it, I'm certain. They're linked." Sora nodded, even though he wasn't thinking very hard.

Linked?

"What if Naminé had something to do with this?" Riku pondered. "Maybe she called him here."

Sora shook his head. "No way. Naminé couldn't have called him, she had no way of contacting him."

Riku thought for a moment. Suddenly, a memory came to him.

"_His progress is astounding" DiZ commented as he stared at the computer screens._

_Riku was idly throwing the small blue crystal into the air and catching it. "So, what happened?" He asked, turning to face DiZ. His voice had deepened into the voice of Ansem, but he had gotten used to the change._

"_Naminé's encounter with Roxas put his heart into contact with Kairi's. And that, in turn, affected Sora. You see?"_

"_Naminé. She's a wonder."_

"Remember Sora, Naminé has control over your memories and _those close to you_." Riku frowned. "What if her awakening put your heart in contact with the Replica's?"

Sora paused. "She can do that?" He asked, a look of horror on his face. Clearly, he had no idea just how much power the Nobody had over him.

"When you were sleeping, Naminé connected Roxas and Kairi's hearts. They spoke to each other telepathically, from across the worlds. Then, through Roxas, you spoke to Kairi."

Sora frowned. "Huh. I don't remember that."

"But anyway. Do you think it's possible that, somehow, Naminé connected you and him when we spoke to her?" Riku asked.

Sora shrugged. "Maybe. But so what? He's here now, maybe we should just stop worrying about how he got here or why."

Riku sighed in defeat. "Maybe. It's still bugging me, though."

"Sora! Riku! Where are you? Come here!" Kairi's voice echoed throughout the bay suddenly. Sora sprang to his feet and began to follow her voice – Riku followed suit, but sighing heavily. He and Sora walked side-by-side to their friend.

Kairi was standing alone on the ledge by the door that led to the larger beach. She smiled as the teenage boys approached. "It's about time you showed up." Her voice was loud and comical, almost like a presenter at a carnival. Sora and Riku just stared up at her.

"Step right up, step right up." Kairi called cheerfully "No need to push, no need to shove. For today, I bring to you a talented young man, first time in the Destiny Islands, ladies and gents. All the way from Castle Oblivion, I present – _Riku Replica!_" Kairi threw her hands in the air and applauded loudly, shouting and whooping and stomping her feet.

"She's cracked." Riku muttered. Sora laughed.

The door pushed open and the Replica poked his head around it nervously. After much encouragement from Kairi, he stepped out into the sunlight, wearing a less-than-amused expression. But his tattered rags were gone – in their place was a bright yellow shirt and a pair of extremely baggy jeans. Sora's eyebrows shot up when he realized that the clothes had been Riku's favourites when he was fifteen.

"Do you guys like it?" Kairi grinned. "I got them from your mother, told her I was doing a project and I needed your old clothes."

Riku looked dumbfounded. Staring at an exact copy of himself at fifteen was just a little freaky. For Sora it was like massive déjà vu. But Kairi just smiled at her stroke of genius. Obviously, she had warmed right up to the Replica in the last fifteen minutes.

After a moment, Riku spoke. "You know what, Kairi?"

Kairi nodded, expecting praise. "Yes?"

"You're right. Those pants _did_ make me look fat." Riku grinned.

-x-

**Buzzkill:**** When I went to upload this I accidentally uploaded chapter four again. My excuses are that I'm blonde and I hate numbers with a fiery passion.**


	6. Trust me

The rest of the day was spent in the way that most long summer days were spent on the Islands. After Kairi and the Replica's little fashion show, Riku decided that the Replica needed to learn how to fight with a wooden sword. The Replica's skills in combat weren't very developed, so the boys spent the rest of the afternoon teaching him the very basics of swordplay, while Kairi sat by, lacing a shell necklace and occasionally offering tips or judging a match. Despite her physical frailness and inability to actually fight, Kairi was almost an expert on the theoretical side of one-on-one battles.

Rivalry still strong between the males, they spent at least an hour taking each other through their paces on the obstacle course. Out of nine races, Riku won four, Sora one two and the Replica won one. Two were draws between Riku and Sora. When they finally threw themselves into the ocean to cool off, it was sunset. As they usually did, they each made their way to the paopu tree to relax and watch the sunset. The tree area was really only big enough for three people, so they each budged up to make room. Kairi and the Replica sat on the tree while Riku and Sora stood.

Later that night, when Sora was all curled up in Riku's bed again, his sleepy thoughts drifted to the Replica. Riku was sitting at his desk across the room, tapping away on his laptop, wearing only a pair of jeans. Sora could see the back of his head, watching the long silver strands fall beneath Riku's shoulder blades.

"You know, Sora, it's only eight thirty. You can't go to sleep yet." Riku muttered after a minute.

Sora moaned. "But I'm tired and your bed is so comfy!" He protested, hugging a pillow close.

"Regardless..." He trailed off. Something on the computer caught his attention and held it fast.

"So what do you think of the Replica?" Sora asked, his eyes half shut.

Riku shrugged, not looking up. "He's alright, I suppose."

"Are we gonna keep him here?"

Riku sighed, and gently shut the laptop with a click. He turned around in his chair and rested his arms on the backrest. Lowering his head to his arms, he gathered his thoughts quietly.

"Well, the question is if we can get rid of him. He can't live out on that island forever, Sora, but he can't come here. It would weird people out too much." Riku explained reluctantly "He doesn't belong here."

Sora moaned. Riku sighed again, casting his eyes to the floor in confession. "He stinks, Sora. He reeks of darkness. The smell just radiates from him. I can still smell it on me, on my arms and my hands, where he touched me." Riku let his arms drop from the chair, almost as if to prove his point. "It's a horrible, decaying stench."

"But what if he stayed here long enough, would he become a creature of light?" Sora asked.

Riku just shook his head. "Some creatures belong in darkness and others in light. I don't think it's possible to change your origin, even if you really want to. I know I couldn't fully accept the darkness. I was always afraid of it." Riku cringed at the memory "Just as the Replica will always be afraid of the light."

Sora sighed, sitting up. He slumped against the wall and drew his knees into his chest. "So what are we going to do with him, if we can't keep him here?"

Riku shrugged. "Kill him?" He laughed at Sora's horrified expression "I was kidding, Sora. We won't kill him."

"Why don't we send him back to where he came from?" Sora pondered.

"If we ever find out where that is." Riku added "He still hasn't explained his existence yet."

Sora sighed, fiddling with his boxer shorts. "Maybe we should ask Naminé what to do."

Riku shrugged. "I don't think she has all the answers. We could just ask the Replica to move on."

Sora frowned. "We can't just tell him to leave, that's rude."

Riku stood up and stretched. Sora eyed his muscular torso for the shortest of seconds. But then he looked away, cheeks slightly pink. Riku crossed to the bed and unceremoniously dumped himself onto it. Rolling onto his back, he stared up at the roof. "What other choice do we have?"

Sora flopped onto his back next to Riku, sighing dramatically, limbs sprawling out. His hand landed over Riku's, but he didn't move it away. "We lead such troubled lives." He smiled. "Woe is us."

Riku tensed up when he felt Sora's hand fall on his. His palm was flat on the blanket, but how much he longed to flip his hand over so that he could hold Sora's. His heart beat strongly in his chest, and though the temptation was great, he decided not to risk Sora pulling away by moving his hand. Instead, he decided to direct Sora's attention away from his hand. Keep him distracted.

"You remember today how I theorized that Naminé might be responsible for the Replica's sudden appearance?" He was grasping and he knew it, but Riku knew he had to keep talking.

Sora nodded, still staring at the roof. "Mm?"

"Well, maybe she had nothing to do with it. Maybe the Replica sort of... _felt_ you remember him and came knocking. Today he said something about 'being called here'."

Sora nodded again, sleepily. "I remember he did say something like that."

"So maybe, if we tell him to go away he'll just come back." Riku pondered aloud, eyes fixed firmly on the roof.

"Yep." Sora agreed. His eyes were completely shut now.

Riku looked over at him, feeling his insides melt a little at Sora's innocent face, suspecting that Sora wasn't even listening.

"So maybe we should dress him in drag and sell him to Krispy Kreme for a singing donut." Riku smirked. Sora just made an 'mhmm' sound, eyes still closed.

"Then we can get smashed, go to the strip club and ransack the toilets for gold nuggets." He suggested. Sora didn't even respond. Suppressing a laugh, Riku reached over and turned the lamp off to try for sleep.

But when he shifted his hand slightly under Sora's as he turned off the lamp, Sora's relaxed grip tightened slightly. On an impulse, Riku rolled his hand over in one deft movement, so his palm faced upwards. He couldn't see it in the darkness, he felt Sora firmly lace his fingers through Riku's, holding his hand tightly. Riku returned the grip, his gut churning nervously. Why was Sora holding his hand? Should he say anything? Should he go for the thumb-stroke? His mind was spinning like it was in a blender.

"I'm still listening." Sora muttered in the darkness. His tone was identical to before. Riku smiled into the dark. "Dunno if you'd find any gold in a bathroom at a strip club though, I think you'd only find AIDS."

"Or a used condom."

Sora chuckled and fell silent. For a long time Riku stared up at the ceiling, wondering if he was really holding hands with Sora or if he was just dreaming. After a while, Sora's grip began to relax as the boy fell further into slumber. Riku glanced over at him, watching his face in the darkness. Sora's face was peaceful enough, but the sweat on his top lip and his tiny frown warned Riku of a possible nightmare. His guts panged with sympathy and dread. This would be Sora's third night since learning of Castle Oblivion and his second since the last nightmare. Riku hoped, after crunching some numbers in his head, that it would be his first night of peaceful sleep in months, but it seemed unlikely.

Looking back up at the roof, Riku sighed internally. He wished he could protect Sora from the evils of the worlds. But, he smiled as he realized, Sora was no damsel in distress. Sora stood on his own feet and even did some protecting himself. Sora had never given into darkness or defeat, even when Riku himself had told him to. And he was there in Riku's own darkest hour, when he had almost refused to return to Destiny Islands because of his mistakes. Sora had managed to convince him to come home, and even dragged him to safety when Riku was down and out.

"_Sora... I can't..."_

"_Don't say another word. It's not over! It's just not."_

"_How can you say that? Even if we could go on, look at where we are."_

"_You've been hanging out in darkness too long. You gotta try and think positive."_

Riku smiled. No. It was better that Sora didn't need to be saved all the time, as Kairi did. However, Sora wasn't stupidly proud like Riku had been. Sora had never been afraid to show his emotions, to admit that he needed a helping hand. Riku remembered when he had fought against his friend in Hollow Bastion, when Sora had managed to summon the Keyblade from his very own hand.

"_My friends are my power!"_

So, maybe Riku was wrong. Sora did need protection – the knowledge that he always had his friends there if he needed them. Riku smiled again, knowing that he was Sora's biggest ally, his very best friend. The hand that loosely gripped his was proof enough to him. But Riku caught himself wanting something a little more than 'very best friends'. Maybe Sora wanted it too. Riku wasn't sure, but he felt pretty confident that it wasn't common to hold your best friend's hand as you slept.

Sora sighed in his sleep and rolled onto his side. He pulled Riku's hand up to the crook of his neck and curled around it. After some shuffling around, Sora was comfortable and became still. Riku smiled.

Sora was Sora – bright, positive and idiotic. But Riku wouldn't have him any other way.

-x-

The waves rolled gently on the sand as the tide came in, washing up shells and seaweed on the beach. The not-quite-full moon hung in the sky, gently illuminating the ripples of water and the pristine white grains of sand. A gentle breeze picked up, sending the tall palm trees swaying slightly, their massive leaves brushing together to produce a heavy sigh. The salt was thick in the air.

Alone on the sand sat the Replica, staring out to the ocean, gently stroking the tiny grains of sand beneath his palms. The bright yellow shirt was gone – his skin seemed unnaturally pale in the moonlight. His legs were stretched out before him, the waves lapping gently at the soles of his bare feet. His expression was wistful, gazing with a desperate longing that would have appeared strange under anything but the gentle moonlight.

"This is real." He whispered to the cool night air, almost as if trying to convince himself. As if in reply, the breeze stopped blowing and the sighing trees fell silent. He paused to listen, his ears perking up underneath the mess of unbrushed silver hair, almost as if waiting for a verbal response.

The Replica sighed and closed his eyes as the wind picked up again. It blew at him, stronger than before, tugging at his baggy jeans almost urgently. His hair whipped around his shoulders madly. He inhaled deeply – the smells of the ocean rushed at him, but he pushed them aside, trying to pick up a certain scent.

Finally, he opened his eyes and stood up. Dusting the sand off the back of his rolled-up jeans, he turned back to the shack.

"Soon."

-x-

Riku woke to a little shake. Blearily, he opened his eyes a fraction. The room was still dark, but he could clearly see Sora's face stared down at him, pale and terrified. His wide blue eyes were pleading.

"Sora?" Riku grunted. "What's up?"

Sora just looked down at him, his lips curled together into a tight frown, his chest heaving. Riku knew from experience that Sora only pulled this face when he was fighting back tears. He knew that if Sora tried to say anything he'd lose control and start blubbering everywhere.

Without a word he reached up and tugged Sora down onto the bed, where he wrapped his arms around the shaking shoulders, pulling the boy close. Sora buried his face into Riku's chest, where he gave way to silent tears. As Riku had fallen asleep with only a pair of jeans on, he could feel Sora's tears roll across his bare skin. It was an odd sensation, but Riku pushed the tingling away. He pushed his nose deep into Sora's messy brown spikes, sighing with a mixture of sympathy and content. His fingers began to idly trace shapes onto Sora's bare back. Even though Sora was crying, it was nice to be that close to another human being, to be able to hold someone tenderly.

Again, Riku mused, he was wrong. Sora only needed a minimal amount of protection, but he sometimes needed comfort. As he felt Sora sniffle and shake into his chest, he resolved that we would always be there for Sora to cry on, to be held. So long as Sora needed him, he would always be there.

Sometime later, Sora cried himself out. He reluctantly pulled away from Riku's comforting embrace. Riku was tempted to hold him there, but he decided against it and watched Sora station himself on the other pillow.

"What did you see?" Riku asked after the two had simply stared at each other for a while. His voice was crackly and dry.

Sora sighed. "I was fighting the Replica again. It was awful. But when I knocked him down the dream didn't end – he got up and ran away." Sora sighed shakily "I felt so bad, so awful. I knew that he wasn't really you, but I was still really sorry." A final tear leaked from Sora's eye.

Riku grimaced and reached over to Sora's face, gently wiping the tear away with his thumb. "It's okay." He muttered, trying to be comforting.

Sora closed his eyes and gave them a final wipe. "I'm sorry, Riku. I don't wanna burden you with all this."

Riku smiled ruefully and pulled Sora into a tight hug._ Sora's always been so selfless._ He thought._ He's earned the right to be a little selfish._

"Never." He muttered into Sora's ear. Sora smiled and pulled Riku tighter.

"Thank you."

-x-

"I'd like to see Naminé."

Sora looked at Riku, who returned the worried glance.

The four of them were sitting inside the secret place, hiding from the blistering heat. It was about midday – the morning had been spent splashing about in the lovely cool water and educating the Replica about boats and sailing. They told him about their raft with a nostalgic smile – that raft marked the day their lives changed forever. Riku still wasn't sure if the changes had been for the better. Sure, he'd managed to get off the Islands and see the worlds, but he almost lost himself as a result. But, he figured, there was no sense in worrying about it now.

Kairi was doodling on the wall with a sharp rock, scratching an abstract swirly design into a tiny free space. When she heard the Replica speak, she tossed her rock down with a shrug.

"I don't see why not." She smiled at him. The Replica smiled back – in the space of a few hours they had become the best of friends. But Riku knew that there was more to it than the others did, and his brow furrowed slightly. This wouldn't end nicely.

Sora shrugged. "Well, if Kairi says it's okay I guess we could summon her."

Riku frowned, uneasy. But he pushed his jitters behind him and nodded stiffly. "Go ahead."

Kairi lay down on the sand. "You guys have to tell me what she says this time, okay?" She reminded them as she closed her eyes, slowly coaxing herself into sleep.

Sora and the Replica passed the five minutes by chatting quietly while Riku watched on, counting in his head and trying to force down the growing sense of unease. Something was wrong, but he couldn't quite place his finger on what.

Finally, the five minutes were up. Kairi looked pretty dead to the world, sprawled out on the ground like she was. Riku paused to wonder just how she managed to fall asleep so quickly. Maybe Naminé was pushing her down. But he shrugged the questions away – to fully answer them he'd have to get his own Nobody, but to do that he'd have to lose his heart to darkness, and he never planned on doing that.

"Naminé?" He called.

Once again, Kairi's eyes snapped open, but this time Riku did not jump. The girl pulled herself up and sat cross-legged on the sand, smiling.

"Hello again." She smiled that secretive smile. Not for the first time Riku wondered just what that girl knew that he didn't.

"Naminé." The Replica muttered, staring at her.

Naminé looked over at him. Her face was completely blank for a second or two, but then it broke into a warm smile.

"Hello, Riku. You wanted to see me?" She smiled, obviously touched that he had asked for her.

The Replica sat back, his cheeks a little pink. He cleared his throat. "I just wanted to make sure that girl was taking care of you."

Naminé's smile dropped into a slight frown. Sora suppressed a snicker – even Kairi's Nobody possessed some of the girl's sass. "Please don't call Kairi 'that girl', Riku. That's not a very nice thing to say." She said sternly. The look was so strange to Kairi's face Sora couldn't help but chuckle. Naminé hesitated, and then giggled herself. The Replica chanced a smile. But Riku just watched on, his gut instinct telling him that something was very wrong. He just wished he knew _what_.

The Replica shuffled forward until he was sitting directly in front of Naminé. Naminé didn't shrink back as Kairi had done, but returned his cold stare.

"I wanted to see you again, at least once." The Replica sighed sadly.

Naminé gave a sympathetic smile. "I'm glad to have been able to meet you again too."

The Replica glanced at the floor. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you very well."

Naminé giggled. "But you did protect me. You kept me safe while Sora fought Marluxia. You saved my life."

The Replica looked up at her, confused. "But... but I left afterwards."

Naminé nodded. "Riku protected me while I protected Sora. Then, well, then I sort of had to protect myself. But now Kairi and I are one, and we watch out for each other."

The Replica reached into his pocket and pulled something out. He held it in his palm and spread his fingers, showing the object to Naminé so that Sora and Riku couldn't see it. Riku found himself stretching up so he could see it, curiosity shoving his worry aside for a second.

Naminé's face recoiled in horror and disgust. Instinctively, she reached up and slapped the Replica's hand away, causing the small object to fall out of his hand and tumble across the sand. It came to a stop in front of Sora, who learned in to look at it closely.

It was a small piece of meat that had a bite taken out of the side. Someone had attached it to a key ring, rather like Kairi's lucky charm. If that wasn't disgusting enough, a tiny maggot waved its head out of the side. Sora shuffled back.

"Ew! What the heck are you doing with something like that?" Sora snapped. The Replica looked at him like he was insane.

"What do you mean, 'something like that'? That's my lucky charm!" He glared, reaching out for it. "It was one of Naminé's table scraps, so I kept it to remind me of her and to keep me safe. Give it back!

Sora snatched it away by the keychain. "Uh uh, no way. This could be diseased. You're not getting it back."

The Replica scrambled over to wrestle the piece of meat away from Sora. "You're not the boss of me! Give it back!"

Sora held it behind his back, refusing to give in. "Riku, hey Riku! Real Riku! Back me up, man!" He barked over to Riku.

Riku shrugged. If the Replica wanted to get salmonella poisoning it was his problem. "Just let him have it, Sora."

Sora's face fell. "But, but it's covered in germs! He could pick something up from it!"

Riku's eyes fell behind his fringe. "Give it back to him."

In a huff, Sora threw the piece of meat back at the Replica, who stuffed it into his pocket, muttering something about it keeping him safe. He turned back to Naminé, who was watching him with a carefully guarded expression.

"I wanted to ask you something, Naminé." The Replica said quietly, still annoyed with Sora.

Naminé nodded. "Yes?"

The Replica looked up into her eyes. "Where did I come from? Who made me? I thought you might know."

Naminé sighed sadly. "You didn't have to ask me, Riku could have told you. But still-" she interrupted the Replica's protest "-I am glad you asked me." She smiled at him.

"You were created by an Organization XIII member called Vexen in Castle Oblivion. He originally made you just as an experiment." The Replica's eyes were on the floor as he listened. "But then Sora entered the castle, and the Organization saw that you could serve a greater purpose than you were created for. They took your memories of creation – they made me take all of your real memories" Naminé's eyes closed with regret "and replace them with fake memories of Riku's childhood. But several key elements were different. I was in your memories instead of Kairi, and I left the islands as a small child due to something Sora did."

Sora piped up "What was it I did?"

Naminé smiled and shook her head. "This was only a false memory, Sora. You did nothing. But I just made it seem like it was something you had done that had caused me to leave."

"I remember what it was." The Replica said suddenly "You broke her heart."

Sora's eyebrows shot up. "I did what now?"

"In the memory. You told Naminé that she was stupid and ugly and you never wanted to see her again when she told you she loved you. So she went to live with her aunt on the mainlands." The Replica said slowly, carefully extracting the false memory from his heart. "You were about eight."

Sora sat back and whistled. "Did I feel guilty?"

The Replica shook his head. "You forgot about her entirely."

Sora laughed. "No wonder you were so annoyed. I'd have been too."

Naminé cleared her throat, clearly a little uncomfortable and guilty. "You guys do remember that this was just something I made up, right? It never happened."

Sora laughed. "Yeah, I know. I was just curious."

The Replica's eyes were still on the floor. "So that's where I came from. Wow. I always thought that there was more to it than that." He murmured.

Naminé shook her head. "You were barely a day old when I rewrote your memories. You didn't miss much. In fact, you gained some more. I made Destiny Islands seem even more beautiful than it already is so that you could have lots of wonderful memories of your childhood."

The Replica smiled, looking up at Naminé. "I thought this place was a little bleak when I got here." He laughed "Thank you, Naminé."

There was silence for a minute. But then Riku cleared his throat. Over the last few minutes his bad feeling had not gone away, but only doubled. He decided to speak up, now that the heartless-to-fake-heart was over.

"Hey guys, maybe we should get out of –"

His voice was cut off by an ear-splitting boom. Riku jumped violently. All heads spun to the strange door that stood at the far end of the cave. The door remained unchanged, but the sound had definitely come from that general direction. Riku realized with a sinking gut that the sound had come from behind it.

"They're coming."

Riku's head snapped around to look at the Replica, whose face was as pale as a sheet. He was staring at the door with the look of utmost horror.

"What?" Riku snapped. The Replica began to quiver, unable to tear his gaze from the door.

"They were chasing me. Through the corridors of darkness. Through the worlds. I was about to give up when I felt... I felt _Sora_." His terrified gaze turned to Sora, who was looking a little scared himself "I felt you calling for me. I managed to find my way here, and they left me alone. I thought I was safe. But I was wrong."

Suddenly, Riku realized why he had been feeling so nervous. The smell! The foul stench of darkness was thick in the room, rolling around with every movement of air. For a second he fought to breathe, suppressing the urge to vomit. But then he was under control. He glared over at the Replica, who was looking at the door sadly.

"I've doomed us all."

-x-

**An annoying note:**** Clifhangaaaaaaar~**


	7. Care for me

The four had barely managed to scramble out of the cave before the first wave of darkness hit. A wall of purple air flew out of the cave, knocking everyone from their feet for a second. The door was open – the Heartless would be there in a matter of minutes. Sora, Riku and the Replica were instinctively rolling onto their feet before they realized that they had been down, but Naminé needed a hand from the Replica to clamber back onto her feet.

Riku looked up and swore – the sky was covered in a mess of thick, angry black clouds, almost blocking out the sun completely, even though it was barely noon. The land was almost as dark as night, and just as cold, whereas it had been a million degrees that morning. He summoned Way to Dawn and took up a fighting stance. If any Heartless decided to show up – which they would, now the door was open - they would be slightly stronger in the darkness. Remembering the months of peace, quiet and cans of cola, he wondered if he would still be in good enough condition to take down an army.

There was a flash of light to his left as Sora summoned the Kingdom Key, and he couldn't help but smile at the prospect of fighting alongside his brunette friend again.

But his thoughts were cut short before a wave of Heartless crawled out of the cave. They were mostly the lesser Shadow variety, but several Neoshadows towered above them, waving their claws. Still, even though there must have been almost a hundred, they were easy pickings, one-hit kills. Riku and Sora leapt at them, slashing their Keyblades carelessly. Riku felt each muscle stretching and flexing as they hadn't done for months. It felt good to be active again. Behind them, the Replica led Naminé to the safety of the paopu tree island. Most Heartless couldn't swim or fly, so with the Replica and his Keyblade Naminé would be safe.

Finally, the last of the Shadows had been dissipated. Sora turned to Riku and smiled playfully. "That Replica of yours must be weak if he couldn't take care of that lot himself."

But Riku's eyes were trained on the entrance to the secret place. He had lived in darkness long enough to know how the Heartless worked. The door to Destiny Islands was strong – it would have taken the combined force of thousands of Heartless to break it open. "No way. There's gotta be more." He said, glaring into the darkness.

And he was right. Within seconds, Heartless of every shape and size were crawling, flying and running out of the cave. The shadows had been nothing but a warm-up. The teenagers didn't have time to think before they were surrounded on all sides. This time their slashing wasn't careless – survival was at stake with this number of foes. But with every Heartless they beat down another would appear, and the two were starting to tire. Three months ago they would have easily wiped out the entire group, but those lazy summer days of splashing about in the ocean had caught up with them.

Sora shot a fire spell at the mass of Heartless, managing to destroy several at once. He briefly thought of his maxed-out drive gauge, but then he remembered that he needed Donald or Goofy to use it and neither of them was there. Grimacing, he swatted a flying Heartless from the sky. Was there another way?

"Together!" Riku shouted, and Sora smiled. Of course! How could he have forgotten?

Sora pushed his back firmly against his friend's and laced their free hands together. He summoned all of his magic power and sent it surging into Riku's palm. He could feel them both begin to float in the air – He bit his lip and kept the magic coming. He knew from experience that he couldn't stop the spell now.

"This is it!"

Suddenly, blue bolts of pure energy began to fly from their Keyblades – Sora took careful aim and began to shoot the Heartless down. The spell was so powerful that many of the Heartless simply combusted after just one hit. He could feel his magic start to burn up rapidly, but he kept at it. Just aim and shoot.

"Is that all you got?" Riku shouted sarcastically, as he often did in battle, as the next part of the spell kicked in. Sora's Keyblade wrenched itself from his hand and lifted itself up above his head. A quick glance confirmed that Riku's Keyblade did the same – the Keyblades pointed each other, quickly gaining height. Suddenly, a yellow light surrounded the Kingdom Key and a blue light surrounded the Way to Dawn. Riku could feel the air pulsate as the Keyblades sapped strength from their wielders. With an ear-splitting crack, the closest of the Heartless were sucked into the gap between the bright Keyblades and destroyed. The Heartless were no match for the magic that had been developed for much stronger Nobodies – even the strongest of the Heartless disappeared with a scream once they were sucked up into the light.

"Time's up!" He shouted as the spell began to cut down all the Heartless within reach. Within a matter of seconds almost three-quarters of the Heartless had evaporated. Feeling the positive surge that comes with gaining the upper hand in battle, once Way to Dawn was back in his hand Riku relentlessly cut down every Heartless he could get his Keyblade on, even though almost all of his magic was gone.

Finally, the last Heartless was destroyed with a sharp yelp. The two males looked about, searching for any remaining Heartless, but finding none they settled back to celebrate.

"You did great!" Sora chirped at Riku, slapping him a high-five. They both let their Keyblades disappear.

Riku smirked. "Looks like we haven't gotten out of shape."

Sora cast his eyes out to the paopu island. He saw the Replica and Kairi standing together on the sand, behind the tree. He couldn't tell from a distance if Naminé was still in control of Kairi's body or not, but he supposed it didn't really matter. Beckoning to Riku, he advanced to the shack. Riku followed quickly, and they climbed up the stairs together. Racing across the bridge, Sora beamed.

"Glad to see you two are okay!" He smiled. Riku laughed at him – Sora was obviously exhilarated to get back into the swing of fighting after so many months of calm. He was the Keyblade master, no doubt about it.

But Naminé's arm lifted, pointing at the entrance to the secret place. "They're not done." She said, her wide blue eyes wrought with fear. For indeed, more and more Heartless came pouring out – almost double the previous amount. Riku swore and summoned Way to Dawn again.

"How do we make them go away?" Sora gasped.

"We'll take those little turds out!" He snarled. But a gentle hand held his shoulder back. He spun to see the Replica looking at him sadly.

"There is a way to make them go away without having to kill all of them." He whispered. Clearing his throat, he said a little forcefully "We give them what they want."

Riku stood upright, Way to Dawn still firmly in his grasp. "Oh really, smarty pants, and what would that be? What do we have that they could possibly want, aside our hearts?" He snapped.

The Replica's eyes were sad. After a short pause he whispered "Me."

Riku rolled his eyes. They did not have time for the Replica's riddles. "Heartless seek strong and pure hearts – Sora and Kairi would be a regular smorgasbord for them. What on Earth would they want with your heart? It's a fake!" He barked, glaring down at the Replica. Every second they wasted bickering brought the Heartless closer. Riku could feel every one of those seconds slipping by. That, along with the foul stench of darkness that plagued his nose, only served to increase his temper.

"His heart might be a fake, but it's still strong." Naminé shrugged "It would appeal to the heartless."

Riku shook his head in exasperation. "More so than the keyblade master's? There's no way." He jerked his head in Sora's direction "And I'd rather fade into darkness again than give Sora up willingly."

Sora went slightly pink, but coughed into his hand and regained his posture. "His heart's fake. But so what? A heart's a heart. It has light and dark – and it loves." Sora shrugged "So maybe it isn't as desirable as Kairi's heart, but it's still a heart. There must be a certain amount of light in his heart for the Heartless to pursue him like this."

Naminé rubbed her chin with her finger. "And the King did mention that there were less Heartless these days – their supply of hearts is drying up now that the worlds are safe." She and Sora nodded at each other.

Riku slapped his palm to his forehead. His frustration was mounting.

"Who cares? Why are we sitting around here arguing over the appeal of the Replica's heart when there are thousands of Heartless out there, trying to take over?" He shouted. Way to Dawn appeared in his hand again. "We have to shut the door and we have to shut it _now_ – I don't care if I have to seal myself behind it, we just have to go now!"

Sora sighed as he summoned the Kingdom Key. Riku was right. It didn't really matter why the Heartless were there. They just needed to get rid of them as soon as they could. Beside him, the Replica summoned his own Keyblade, Soul Eater. Naminé shrugged before summoning Kairi's flowery Keyblade, Destiny Place. Kairi knew how to fight in theory, but she had never raised a blade against anyone, aside from a few Heartless in The World That Never Was. Naminé knew only what she had learned from Sora and Kairi's memories, but she was still nervous about taking their theory into the field. She wondered if Kairi's body would be strong enough to keep up with the muscular boys.

"I can't fight nearly as well as you three, but at least I can wield a Keyblade." She smiled weakly, almost trying to prep herself up. She tried slashing the Keyblade through the air clumsily, but she almost hit the Replica's elbow.

The Replica stepped away from her. "Yeah, just stay away from me when you've got that thing out." He muttered.

"Right. Get into the cave. Only fight in defence." Riku shouted above the sudden clash of thunder. "Let's go!"

The four set off, jogging down the bridge. Riku and Sora ran side-by-side at the front, closely followed by a shaky Naminé. Bringing up the rear was the Replica, eyes darting side to side, making sure that no Heartless were attacking Naminé. When the four reached the shack on the other side of the bridge, Heartless were already beginning to clamber onto the wood in pursuit. Sora cut them down easily as Riku opened the door to the shack and shoved Naminé inside roughly. Pausing to glance down at the beach, Sora whistled. The sand was no longer visible beneath the multitude of Heartless. The Replica pushed past Riku and into the shack, leading the way down the staircase and into the level below, where a few Shadows lurked. He made short work of them as Riku and Sora bolted the door behind them.

"You okay?" The Replica asked Naminé, who stood on the bottom step and clutched at Destiny Place awkwardly. She nodded hastily, her face as white as a sheet.

"I'm fine."

Sora instinctively reached into his pocket to check how many potions he had, just in case Naminé would need one. But when his fingers met nothing but cool cloth, he bit back a curse. Of course he had no potions! The attack had caught him completely unprepared. Gripping the hilt of the Kingdom Key tightly, Sora fought to stay calm. They would just have to make do without potions.

Riku grimaced when he saw Sora reach for a potion. But there was nothing he could do aside tear open the door and lead Sora into the hell that raged outside. With a quick intake of breath, he shifted his grip on Way to Dawn and grabbed at the door handle. With one movement, he twisted the handle and yanked the door open.

Heartless streamed in with a deafening screech. Riku pushed his way through the door and began to carve a path through the Heartless. Shouting to Sora, he slowly began to make his way further inland, cutting and slashing at the Heartless – not aiming to kill, but just knock the Heartless aside for a moment. Sora beckoned to the Replica and Naminé, and the three pushed their way up to Riku. They pressed all four of their backs together to form a sort of square, each side armed with a Keyblade. Riku lead the way, gradually pushing the group forward through the swarm, with the Replica and Sora on either side, finishing off the Heartless that Riku had shoved out of the way. Behind them was Naminé, clumsily striking out at any Heartless who got too close. At first her swings were wild, choppy. But as they progressed, Naminé began to gain some accuracy and power in her slashes as she warmed up to Kairi's Destiny Place.

After almost ten minutes of struggling through the crowd of Heartless, the entrance to the secret place was only a few paces away. Riku lunged for it, but was beaten back by a sudden gust of wind coming from the cave. Caught unawares, Riku inhaled a full lungful of the disgusting, rotten air that had come straight out of the darkness. He fell to his hands and knees, dropping his Keyblade, and regurgitated the contents of his stomach, retching weakly as his strength evaporated. Way to Dawn disappeared as soon as it hit the ground. Sora dropped to his knees beside Riku, trying to pull him back onto his feet and hold his hair out of his face at the same time. Vomit splashed onto his pants, but Sora was beyond caring. The Replica and Naminé beat back a few Heartless, but luckily enough most of the Heartless that were close by were smart enough to stay out of their reach. Thunder roared in the sky.

"Sora – go in there without me. I'll... I'll hold the Heartless back." Riku moaned through clenched teeth. No way would he be able to go into the secret place, not with that awful stench. He forced down the remaining bile and wiped the vomit from his mouth with the back of his hand.

Sora wrapped Riku's arm around his shoulders and pulled the taller boy up, much like how he had done only three months before. Once Riku was steady on his feet, Sora released him from his grip and stepped back a little, re-summoning the Kingdom Key. He called out to the others, jerking his head in the direction of the entrance. The Replica and Naminé rushed inside, Keyblades ready to take down any Heartless lurking inside.

"You sure?" Sora hesitated, looking up at Riku uncertainly. Riku jumped to cut down a flying Heartless.

"Go, Sora! You gotta go now!" Riku shouted over the din of the Heartless and the thunder. He was more than a little annoyed that Sora was wasting precious time, but flattered that Sora was making sure he was okay.

Sora quickly grabbed Riku into a very quick hug. "Don't die!" He hissed, releasing Riku just in time to stab at an approaching Heartless. Riku laughed as Sora retreated into the cave.

Inside, the cave was completely dark aside from a bright light shining from the tip of Destiny Place, which Naminé gripped tightly as she attempted to shove the door shut. The door was stuck fast, but Naminé still pushed her whole frail body against the wood, her face pink with the effort. The Replica was battling with a stubborn neo shadow on the opposite side of the cave.

Sora shot a quick blizzard spell at the Heartless, causing it to implode upon itself and sink into the floor. The Replica looked up and smiled, but Sora just frowned.

"Naminé, that's not how you close a door." He said, pulling her away. He didn't want the fragile girl to be so close to the door when the next wave of Heartless came through. "You need a key on either side to lock it."

Naminé shot her best "I know that" glare at him, her brow shining with sweat. But Sora just ignored her, staring at the door. Did they really have to seal someone on the other side?

"I'll go to the other side." The Replica said suddenly.

Sora sighed. "We can't do that."

The Replica glared at him. "What, you'd seal yourself on the other side of the door? After all you went through to get back here?"

Sora returned the glare. No way would he let his new friend endanger himself. "No way."

"I was the one who brought them here in the first place." The Replica advanced to the door.

Sora gripped the Replica's elbow, clutching it tightly. "No. No way." His forceful tone had given way to a pleading note, but his face remained glaring.

The Replica shrugged him off, staring into the darkness beyond the open doorway. "It's the only way. They're gonna keep coming and they're not gonna stop until they get what they came for. They'll take the whole island if they have to." The Replica turned and stared Sora down. "I won't let you guys lose your home again because of me."

Sora's stony face cracked – his features twisted in desperation. "Is there another way?"

The Replica's eyes closed as he shook his head. But when he opened them, he was wearing a brave smile. "But, it's not the end. I won't be gone, not really."

Naminé stepped forward. The light from Destiny Place sent the shadows dancing. "What do you mean?"

The Replica's smile grew, and for the first time Sora realized just how innocent it really looked compared to the evil smirk he had worn a few days ago. It reminded him of Riku as a small child, and he couldn't help but smile back.

"The darkness took me before, remember? But I didn't die. I was just taken into the realm of darkness, but I eventually made my way here, to my home." He tapped his foot fondly on the sand to illustrate his point. "So, if it takes me again, I won't let myself go. I'll find my way back here eventually."

Sora seemed beside himself at the prospect of letting his new friend walk to his doom. "Promise?" He asked, childishly.

The Replica held out his pinky finger and smiled. Sora smiled too and took it in his own pinky finger. They shook on it. Naminé smiled too, but her expression was carefully guarded.

"Thank you, Riku." She smiled at him. "We won't ever forget your sacrifice."

Sora grinned, feeling that the Replica needed some encouragement. "I know you're a lot braver than me. I would never be able to seal myself on the other side of that door."

The Replica's smile faded. Sora's grin slipped. He had said the wrong thing. The Replica's voice was low and mournful when he spoke. "You don't need to be. You'll always have Riku and Kairi to back you up." He said, making a gesture to Naminé, who just giggled and shuffled her feet.

"But Riku, you have friends too." Naminé smiled. "Us. And we'll always be waiting for you."

The Replica looked at her for a short second, before stepping forward to seize her into a tight hug. Naminé squeaked from surprise, but hugged him back almost as tightly.

"I'll miss you the most, Naminé."

Naminé smiled. "You'll always be in my thoughts, Riku."

Because the Replica's head was in the way, Sora couldn't see exactly what happened next, but when the two pulled apart they were both rather pink. Hiding a smirk, he slapped a hand on the Replica's shoulder.

"It's time."

The Replica looked up at him, his expression unreadable. Suddenly, a tiny tear leaked from the corner of one of his eyes and rolled down his face. Hurriedly, he lowered his head and wiped it away. But Sora saw, and he felt his heart bleed for the Replica. He wondered how hard it was for him to walk away from the only friends and home he had ever known. But before he could speculate, the Replica returned the friendly hand on the shoulder and nodded up at him, his face set in a determined way. And Sora knew, come Hell or high water, nothing would ever stop the Replica from returning to Destiny Islands. He smiled. That was _Riku's_ replica, alright.

The Replica turned to face the abyss beyond the doorway. He began to walk slowly, but stopped just before his foot stepped through the door.

"For now, my friends."

He stepped out boldly into the darkness, and continued walking. As the ground was not visible, it seemed almost like he was walking on air. When he was several paces away he spun and rose his Keyblade into the air. Light formed at the tip. Face taught, Sora mimicked the action, feeling his power being sucked into his own Keyblade. Naminé pushed at the door again, this time managing to inch it shut slowly. Sora stared through the doorway, watching the Replica's straight face as the door creaked shut. He bit down the urge to shout or cry – a long time ago he had vowed to never let a door close between him and Riku again. Though this wasn't Riku, Sora still felt the awful sense of betrayal and déjà vu.

Just as the door came between Sora and the Replica's faces, the Replica smiled. But before Sora could smile back, the door shut with a heavy click.

Without saying a word to Naminé, Sora turned and stalked to the mouth of the cave. He assumed that Riku was still alive because the Heartless hadn't invaded the cave yet. Because of this, what he saw caught him completely off guard

The thousands of Heartless that had swarmed the island were losing their power now that the door was shut and were slowly disintegrating, screaming and screeching loud enough to wake the dead. Sora would have paused to gloat, but he suddenly realized that Riku was nowhere to be seen.

Frantic, Sora slashed at the nearest Heartless. Memories of what happened to people whose hearts had been stolen by the Heartless flashed in his mind, but Sora shoved the memories away. Riku wasn't gone. He couldn't be. But as the struck Heartless faded into darkness, despair began to clutch at Sora's heart. Why did he leave Riku to fight on his own? Naminé could have sealed the door. He cursed at his stupidity as he vented his frustration towards the Heartless. Riku was there, somewhere, all Sora had to do was find him. He was sure of it.

But with every Heartless Sora cut down, his panic grew. Just what if the unthinkable had come to pass? Sora could feel his knees begin to weaken as he advanced up the path, still finding no sign of his friend. But his wild swings became wilder and stronger as his panic pushed him into frenzy. His mind ground to a halt as his body kicked into overdrive. Sora's rational thoughts flew right out of the window - all he could do was lash out. His chest burned, his limbs ached and his head swam. Was Riku really gone?

But before Sora could swear to kill each and every Heartless to avenge Riku, a flash of blue caught Sora's eye. Relief swelled in his chest as he realized that Riku was on the ground, underneath the Heartless. But then worry began to gnaw at his stomach – what if he was too late? Sora stabbed at the nearest Heartless savagely, uncovering Riku in seconds.

"Riku!" Sora cried, falling to his hands and knees beside his friend. The Kingdom Key fell away with a clatter. "Are you okay?"

Riku moaned and clambered to his knees, able to move now that he wasn't being stood on. He was covered in cuts and scratches, his long silver hair streaked with crimson blood. He was in terrible condition. But he was alive. Relief washed through Sora's body, and he laughed as he helped Riku to his feet.

"Don't ever do that again!" He shouted angrily, wrapping his arms around Riku's torso so tightly the boy yelped. But once Sora had loosened his grip a little, Riku managed a smile and hugged him back. Suddenly lightning flashed overhead and a light, natural rain began to fall.

Sora's shoulders began to shake slightly as the rain soaked through his clothes. Riku ignored the cold, enjoying the cool rain washing his sweat and blood away. No way could he go home in _this_ condition.

"I-I thought you were gone." Sora stuttered up at Riku, his lips pulled into that familiar tight frown. Riku couldn't tell if he was crying or if it was just the rain on his face. Smiling himself, he pulled Sora in tighter, resting his chin on top of Sora's head. He inhaled deeply, trying to get the stench of darkness out of his nose by breathing in the fruity scent of Sora's shampoo.

"Never." He muttered. Sora felt the vibrations from Riku's throat on his ear and he smiled. Watching the waves crash madly against the beach, Sora idly wondered when the storm would go away. The Heartless had withered away in the last few seconds – only the strongest remained, but they were flailing about uselessly. They were no longer a threat.

"Wow, I sure had a crazy dream."

Riku and Sora broke apart and looked behind them. Kairi was standing a few feet away, shaking her head lightly. "_'It might be fake, but I'll always love you._' This voice said." She shook her head, deepening her voice comically to imitate her dream. She held her hands out, palm up, feeling the droplets of rain. Glancing over at the bloody Riku and the shaking Sora Kairi frowned. "Pardon my asking, but what the hell just happened?"

Riku shared an amused glance with Sora.

"You explain." Riku smirked, turning away. "I'll go get a coconut."

-x-

Riku found Sora on the balcony after dinner that night.

Sora's head was tilted backwards as he stared up at the stars, but he was bent forward, learning on the railing with outstretched hands. "You never use this thing enough" Sora said to the stars when he heard Riku close the door behind him.

Riku laughed. Bandaids glinted on his hands, arms, face and neck, and his left arm was bandaged to the elbow. When Riku's parents had asked just what he had done to himself, Riku had curtly replied that he had attempted rock climbing without a safety line. "It loses its charm after a while." He commented.

Sora cocked his head to one side, his eyes still on the dark heavens above. "I don't know how you could ever get sick of this view."

Riku laughed as he learned against the railing next to Sora, gingerly putting weight on his bandaged arm. "It's always at its prettiest when you realize just how close you came to losing it."

Sora sighed, blowing air out through his cheeks. "Life sucks like that. You never know what you have until it's gone."

Riku's eyebrow quirked. "You miss him, don't you?"

Sora shrugged. His gaze slipped from the sky and to the ocean. "I suppose I do. He was a good friend. But he was just like you, and you're still here." He chuckled. "It's a mind trip."

Riku nodded, jutting his jaw out to one side thoughtfully. "Well, I'm glad he's gone." He laughed when Sora glared at him "Can you imagine having to look at all of the hideous clothes you used to wear all day?" They both laughed. "There was a reason those clothes were buried in the bottom of my drawer."

"Seriously though, I don't know if I should miss him or not." Riku shrugged. "He sacrificed himself for us, but he brought the Heartless here in the first place. And it was kind of awkward to look at him and listen to other people call him by my name."

Sora just smiled. "But we changed him, didn't we? When he came he was all sullen and temperamental. After just two days of being his friend he learned how to be friendly. I think these last few days have changed him forever. He knows that the light isn't all bad."

"I sort of wish I could have said goodbye." Riku commented, flicking his hair out of his eyes. "I was kind of rude to him at times, and I never got the chance to say that I was sorry."

Sora looked over at Riku, but Riku's eyes were far away. "What do you mean?" He asked.

Riku shrugged. "I hated him. I just loathed him at first. But then you got to know him, and you sort of pulled his true colours out." Riku's head lowered with shame "And I learned that he wasn't such a bad guy."

Sora smiled, looking away. "He's just like you were when you were fifteen. Maybe a little rough on the outside, but on the inside he was just a little lost. All he really needed was someone to care for him."

Riku chuckled, looking over at Sora. His eyebrows disappeared into his hairline "You think I needed someone to care for me?"

Sora nodded soberly. "You still do."

Riku's gaze was confused. Questions bubbled in his chest, but he pushed them down. He knew he was weak, but Sora already knew that too. He didn't want to talk about it – they both knew he was a pathetic weakling who had folded to the power of darkness and needed someone to care for him. No sense in opening up _that_ can of worms.

But Sora could tell what he was thinking. "You're not weak, Riku." He stated calmly, not looking at Riku.

Riku rolled his eyes. "Really." He muttered sarcastically. He was as weak as water and they both knew it. The sooner Sora stopped denying it the easier it would be for him.

Sora turned to face Riku, learning on one arm. His face was sympathetic. "Needing someone to care doesn't make you weak, man. It makes you human."

"_I care. You know that, right? I always cared. I always will."_

Riku paused, smiling as he remembered the moment of waking up to soft breaths on his cheek and Sora's quiet whisper. "You care, don't you?"

Sora shrugged and turned away to hide his pink cheeks. "Nothing wrong with that." He muttered.

Riku nodded slightly, and they stood in silence for a few moments. He wanted to tell Sora that he cared too, but for that moment his vocabulary escaped him. He smiled ruefully when he realized that he was a lot braver when Sora was asleep. Sora's eyes slowly drifted back up to the stars above, while Riku eyed the one-storey drop below. "This is the way it's always been, isn't it? You look up, I look down. Earth and sky." He smiled sadly. Not quite the thing he wanted to say, but it was good enough.

Sora glanced sideways at Riku. "No, you've just been listening to the Replica mope about too much." Sora reached over and placed one hand on Riku's chin, gently lifting his face from the ground and onto the horizon. "You always looked forwards."

Riku slowly reached up and covered Sora's hand with his. He moved Sora's hand an inch or so up to his cheek and held it there for a second, almost nuzzling into it. He could faintly feel his heart beat faster, but he paid it no attention. After watching the Heartless almost take the islands again, nothing seemed to be so frightening anymore. All that mattered was the warm hand on his face.

One of Sora's fingers slipped onto Riku's eyelid, gently pushing it closed. Riku chuckled, the deep sound vibrating in his throat like a purr. Sora gently pulled away, but Riku's grip fastened and held his hand over his eye. "Hide me from the world, Sora." He turned to face his little friend, watching through his single open eye.

Sora smiled too. He reached up with his free hand and gently covered Riku's other eye with his fingers, sliding his eyelid down. For a few seconds, Riku's world was completely dark. He would have been afraid and opened his eyes, but the two gentle hands over his eyelids reminded him of where he was, comforting him slightly. He let out a long sigh, feeling his body relax into the darkness. His hand slipped from Sora's, but Sora's hands stayed firmly over his eyes. Slowly, the hands on his face pulled him down into a slight stoop.

"You're safe." Sora mumbled, sensing Riku's tension. His voice sounded a lot closer than it had when Riku's eyes were open. "I'll hide you forever." Suddenly, Riku could feel Sora's minty breaths on his jaw. But before he could register what was going on, he felt a pair of lips meet his.

Light.

Sora's hands slipped from Riku's face and onto his shoulders, but Riku's eyes remained closed. His arms began to wrap around Sora's waist to pull the warm little body closer to his. For what seemed like an eternity, they simply hugged each other closer and kissed. For those few seconds, nothing else mattered.

Finally, the pair broke apart. Riku straightened up slightly, so Sora just rested his head on Riku's chest, feeling the other boy's erratic heartbeat through his shirt. He snuggled in closer, inhaling the familiar scent of his friend. Riku planted a short kiss on the top of Sora's head and rested his chin gently on the silky spikes of hair. His eyes slowly slid closed, but the darkness that greeted him wasn't nearly as menacing while he held Sora close. They didn't say anything for a long minute. Nothing needed to be said. They just stood there in each other's embrace, enjoying the cool night air.

"Do you get it now?" Sora asked quietly after a few minutes of silence. Riku removed his chin from the top of Sora's head as Sora looked up at him. Sora's expression was thoughtful.

Riku frowned. "Do I get what?"

Sora chuckled. "You're not weak. You're just human."

Riku paused, considering Sora's words. After a moment he smiled. "If you say so, teacher."

Sora laughed and shook his head a little, shaking Riku's cheek from his forehead. He looked up at Riku expectantly. Riku lifted his head, stretching himself to his full height, which was a good head taller than Sora. "What's that, Sora? You a little too short to reach me?" He smirked.

Sora just rolled his eyes, reached up and placed his hands on either side of Riku's head, over his ears. He gently tugged Riku down into a slight stoop as he stood on his tiptoes. Riku quickly closed the gap, bringing his lips down to meet Sora's once again.

So, Riku thought to himself, maybe he was wrong. Again. Sora didn't need comfort, for he was brave enough to face anything the worlds threw at him. Sora didn't need any protection other than the knowledge that his friends were always there. Sora didn't need to be saved, for he was strong enough to save himself. Sora didn't need anything.

But Sora wanted love. Sora wanted affection, Sora wanted tenderness and Sora wanted to care for someone and be cared for in return. As Riku held the smaller boy close that night, he silently mused over the differences between Sora's wants and needs. His needs were the bare necessities – things he simply could not live without. But Sora's wants were different – they were the things he chose not to live without. And it seemed that Riku was one of those choices.

Briefly, he stopped to consider his own wants and needs. Riku knew that he wasn't as strong as Sora. He needed to be saved - from himself. Riku was still extremely guilty about the things he had done when he was fifteen. He had opened the door himself, destroying Destiny Islands. He had allowed himself to fall into darkness, attacking Sora numerous times and failing to help Kairi when she was in dire need. And finally, when he had only just managed to get rid of the dark powers he had once possessed, Riku had called them out again and taken on the appearance of Ansem. He knew that it had been to save Sora, but he still felt weak and pathetic to still need those powers. But most of all he needed someone to care for him. Someone to miss him if he died, someone to brighten his life. Someone to give a damn.

But when Sora kissed him, a massive weight lifted off Riku's heart. Sora cared, despite the knowledge of everything he had done. But Sora loved him anyway, in spite of everything. In later years, when Riku asked Sora why he loved him, Sora would just laugh and reply "Everyone has their faults, Riku. But your faults make you who you are, and I couldn't love you more."

And so, Sora had given Riku salvation from his sins by a simple act of forgiveness and caring. That was the only thing Riku had ever needed, and Sora had managed to fill that need without even stopping to think about it. There was a time, not so very long ago, when Riku would have been jealous of Sora's light hearted ways, but now he was just glad that Sora had chosen him to share that light heart of his with. It was more than Riku had ever dared to hope for. The past was no longer an issue for him. He looked forward, just as Sora claimed he always had, watching the dawning of a new day.

That night was the very first in months that Sora slept peacefully, curled up safely in Riku's arms. While that strong hand held his, Sora knew that the past was gone and it wouldn't hurt him anymore. And while the future was always slightly scary (Imagine getting a job! Fighting an army of Heartless seemed less scary.), he knew that if he faced it with Riku, the road would be no less bumpy or unpredictable, but the trip would sure be a lot more enjoyable.

_Hold me,_

_Whatever lies beyond this morning,_

_Is a little later on._

_Regardless of warnings,_

_The future doesn't scare me at all._

_Nothing's like before._

THE END

-x-

**Those end notes that always spoil the mood: First of all, I gotta say BIG thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, alerted, favorited, flamed, put up with the corniness, made me toast or who ever lived. :D Yeah, I went there. Special thanks to my darling Kiaxian, who always managed to make my day with her thoughtful and kind reviews, comments and putting up with my ranting on about ideas and such. You**_** inspire**_** me, mate. Besides, it was her evil plotting that got me into KH in the first place, so we should all worship her for that. –lovelovelove-**

**And would you look at that? I actually completed a multi-chapter story! Booyah! Hopefully this opens the door for many more completed multi-chaptered fics to come. ^_^ Because this fic was so well-received I might write an epilogue or a short follow-up to this story eventually, but don't hold your breath.**

**Well, that's it from me. Bye bye for now, my lovely subscribers. =3**

-x-

Hey guys! It's been a year and a half since I finished writing _Rewind_ and it's still the most popular story on my account. Almost two years down the track I feel that my writing has improved, so if you've got the time you should check out my latest multi-chapter work, _How My Brother Ruined My Life,_ which follows the life of Roxas after meeting a beautiful, older stranger by the name of Riku_._ It's an AU dramatic romantic comedy sporting much swearing, sexual themes and whining, but the writing, drama and humour is definitely a step up from _Rewind._ So check it out! What's the worst that could happen? ;D


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